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ETHICAL 


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CHIEFLY     RELATIVE    TO 


SUBJECTS   OF  POPULAR  INTEREST. 


BY 

A.     H.      DANA. 


g€fa-gorK: 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER,  124  GRAND  STREET. 

LONDON :  SA!iIPSON  LOW,  SON  &  CO. 

1862. 


Eutered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  19C2,  by 

A  .    H.    DANA, 

In  the  Clei-k's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Soathem 
District  of  New-York. 


xtiutt 


The  following  Essays  are  fragments — not  that  the  thoughts 
expressed  in  them  are  merely  of  first  impression ;  on  the  con- 
trary, what  I  have  written  has  been  well  considered.  But  in 
respect  to  most  of  the  Essays,  they  are  suggestions  rather  than 
conclusions,  which  it  was  my  intention,  when  the  requisite 
leisure  could  be  obtained,  to  elaborate  and  amplify  into  trea- 
tises more  extended  in  argument  and  illustration. 

Having  now  little  hope  of  the  leisure  or  health  required  for 
carrying  out  my  original  plan,  I  consign  to  the  public  these 
fragmentary  thoughts,  such  as  they  are,  and  will  only  add  that 
they  comprise  but  a  small  part  of  the  reflections  which  have 
been  the  result  of  the  study  and  meditation  of  many  years  of  a 
life  which  has  not  been  idly  spent. 


272934 


^.^iMy^<^ 


CHAPTEE.  PAGI. 

I — Races  of  Men 8 


fei.-™. 


II. — Compensations  of  Life 19 

III.— Identity .^ 26 

IV.— Necessity 30 

v.— Authorship 35 

VI.— Influence  of  Great  Men 41 

VII. — Lawyers 52 

VIII.— Hereditary  Character 57 

IX. — Sensuality  64 

X.— Health 69 

XI. — Narcotic  Stimulants 84 

XII.— External  Religion 95 

XIIL— Inequality  in  the  Condition  of  Men 103 

XIV.— Wi^sdom  of  the  Ancients 117 

XV. — Theology.    Ministers  of  Religion,  &c 127 

XVI. — War.     Immediate  Consequences — Ultimate  Results 138 

XVII. — Seminaries  of  Learning.    Education  of  Youth 145 

XVIII.— Reason  and  Faith 152 

XIX. — The  Supernatural.    Popular  Superstitions,  Omens,  &c. . .  159 

XX. — Fear  of  Death — Phenomena  of  Suicide 166 

XXI. — Character,  as  determined  by  Corporeal  Organism 176 

XXII. — Self-Renovation.    Methods  of  Repairing  Wasted  Energy 

of  Mind 187 

XXIII. — Government  and  Laws,  as  affecting  the  Greatness  of  States.  193 

XXIV. — Science  of  Medicine.     Physicians — Medical  Practice 206 


VUl 


OHAPTEK.  PAGE. 

XXV. — Diet.    Ethnical  Peculiarities — Comparative  Effects  of  Ani- 
mal and  Vegetable  Food  upon  Individual  and  National 

Character TT. 219 

XXVI. — Population.     Comparison  of  Ancient  and  Modern  Statis- 

iTcs 226 

XXVII.— Probation  of  Life.     Pain  of  Body- its  Probable  Uses 236 

XXVIII. — Probation  of  Life  (continued.)    Successive  Changes — Old 

Age— Death. . ,   ......  246 

XXIX.— N^uSSi^hy S!.\ i,;. ri?.V.^ 255 

XXX. — Inspiration.    How  Divine  Knowledge  is  Imparted — What 
•Communication  may  there  be  with  Beings  of  a  Higher 

Order  than  the  Human 266 

XXXI. — Nemesis  ;  or,  The  Eetributions  of  Life 279 

XXXir.—SamT (continued.) 293 


The  following  letters,  from  two  of  our  most  eminent  schol- 
ars and  divines,  will,  I  trust,  not  be  deemed  an  inappropriate 
introduction  to  this  volume. 

In  making  such  use  of  them,  I  have  in  view  only  the  more 
effectual  accomplishment  of  the  object  for  which  these  Essays 
are  placed  before  the  public,  viz.,  the  furnishing  of  useful  sug- 
gestions to  those  who  can  be  induced  to  think. 

But  it  is  necessary  first  to  get  attention,  and  these  distin- 
guished, but  perhaps  too  partial  friends,  will  be  listened  to 
with  a  respect  which  would  not  be  conceded  to  an  author 
comparatively  unknown : 

FROM  REV.  HORATIO  POTTER,  D.  D.,  BISHOP  OF  THE 
DIOCESE  OF  N.  Y. 

My  Dear  Sir — I  have  to  thank  you  for  your  kindness  in  allowing  me 
to  look  at  the  manuscript  of  your  "Ethical  and  Physiological  Inquiries," 
and  to  express  my  regret  that  very  urgent  engagements  put  it  out  of  my 
power  to  peruse  and  reperuse  the  whole,  as  I  could  wish  to  do.  But  I 
have  seen  enough  to  make  me  feel  desirous  to  see  it  in  print.  The  por- 
tions examined — Influence  of  Great  Men,  Hereditary  Character,  Lawyers, 
etc. — interested  me  much.  They  furnish,  indeed,  a  kind  of  reading  which 
always  has  a  charm  for  me,  and  I  much  mistake  the  taste  of  a  certain  class 
of  readers,  if  these  curious  observations  do  not  meet  with  a  friendly  recep- 
tion. 

It  is  very  delightful  to  me,  my  dear  sir,  that,  after  the  lapse  of  more 
years  than  I  have  courage  to  count  up,  my  old  college  friend  should 
return  to  me  with  pleasant  discourse,  which  recalls  so  vividly  the  glow- 
ing, youthful  talk  of  former  days.  I  see  even  now,  as  if  present,  the  dear 
little  room  in  college,  and  the  two  genial  students,  filling  up  the  intervals 
of  severer  study  with  high  debate  about  poetry,  and  histor}^,  and  science, 
and  philosophy,  and  loving  each  other  as  much  as  they  loved  knowledge. 
Precious,  happy  days !  Blessed  beginning  of  pleasures  which  have  since 
been  flowing  through  all  the  life !  the  pleasure  of  reading  and  thinking. 
I  remain,  my  dear  sir. 

Ever  faithfully  yours, 

HoKATio  Potter. 


FROM  REV.  R.  S.  STOERS,  Jr.,  D.  D. 
A.  H.  Dana,  Esq., 

My  Dear  Sir — I  have  read  many  of  3'our  essays,  as  those  on  Identity, 
Necessity,  Races,  Authorship,  Influence  of  Great  Men,  Lawyers,  Sensuality, 
Narcotics,  and  have  been  much  interested  in  and  instructed  by  them. 
They  strike  me  in  general  (without  particular  criticism  on  either)  as  con- 
taining the  fruits  of  much  research  and  reflection,  and  the  germs  of  much 
more  elaborate  treatises.  I  should  be  exceedingly  glad  to  have  them  on 
hand  in  the  form  of  a  volume,  and  I  am  sure  that  many  others  would 
also.  ******* 

Whether  it  would  be  possible,  at  the  present  time  especially,  to  reach 
the  popular  mind,  so  as  to  secure  for  them  a  remunerative  circulation,  you 
can  decide  better  than  I.  I  am  very  glad  to  have  seen  and  read  these 
writings.  They  have  made  me  know  you  better,  and  have  given  me 
several  most  pleasant  half  hours. 

Ever  truly  yours, 

R.  S.  Stobrs,  Jr. 


KACES    OF    MEN 


The  whole  period  in  wkich  the  Greeks  had  much 
distinction,  viz.,  from  the  Persian  invasion  to  the 
subjugation  of  Greece  by  the  Macedonians,  when     ^ 
their  various  popular  and  aristocratic  governments      [^ 
became  merged  in  a  military  monarchy,  was  little      (' 
more  than  150  years.* 

After  that  period  there  were  some  men  of  renown 
in  war,  but  they  were  not  the  representatives  of  the 
national  mind,  nor  had  any  more  influence  for  the 
elevation  of  their  country  than  those  conquerors 
who  have  been  produced  in  the  East  in  later  times, 
whose  power  has  been  that  of  destruction — an  un- 
mixed agency  of  present  evil  without  productive- 
ness of  future  good. 

The  artistic  and  literary  character  of  the  Greeks 
disappeared  after  the  Macedonian  conquest ;  and 
even  in  war  the  rudest  tribes  subsequent  to  that 
time  furnished  a  more  warlike  soldiery,  and  more 
distinguished  military  chiefs,  than  the  once  re- 
nowned states  of  Athens  and  Sparta. 


The  Battle  of  Marathon  was 490  B.  C. 

The  Battle  of  Chseronea  was 338    " 


10  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

It  would  seem  to  show  that  the  peculiarities  of  a 
race  depend  more  on  the  circumstances  under  which 
national  character  is  developed  than  on  hereditary 
transmission  ;  yet  the  extinction  of  the  genius  of 
the  Greeks  may  be  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the 
crushing  despotism  of  the  Macedonian  conquerors, 
and  the  more  annihilating  effect  of  Koman  oppres- 
sion. 

The  rule  of  the  first  conquerors  was  accompanied 
by  many  acts  of  lawless  violence,  yet  still  left  some 
remnant  of  ancient  laws  and  usages.  The  Koman 
conquest  subverted  all  that  remained  of  freedom. 
The  worst  vices  predominated  after  that  time — 
the  literature  of  the  country  became  a  subtle  and 
unmeaning  sophistry,  and  the  nation  that  once  ex- 
hibited the  greatest  development  of  intellectual 
power  that  has  been  seen,  until  a  recent  period 
of  modern  history,  has  ever  since  displayed  the  op- 
posite extreme,  viz.,  the  predominance  of  sensual 
passion,  and  the  propensities  of  an  enslaved  mind. 

In  the  Greek  character,  whatever  there  was  of 
genius  in  the  arts  or  literature,  belonged  almost 
exclusively  to  the  Athenians.  The  few  of  foreign 
birth  that  attained  distinction  were  either  educated 
at  Athens  or  under  the  instruction  of  teachers  sent 
forth  from  its  schools.  Other  Greek  nationalities 
had  but  one  thing  in  common  with  the  Athenians, 
viz.,  the  power  of  self-government.  The  degree  of 
freedom  was  indeed  various,  but  under  every  form  of 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES.  11 

government  some  class  of  the  community  was  inde- 
pendent. Even  Athens  was  not  entirely  democratic  ; 
the  free  citizens  were  probably  not  more  than  a  fifth 
of  the  population.  It  has  been  argued  that  the 
superiority  of  the  Athenian  mind  was  attributable 
to  the  foreign  intermixture,  but  this  is  certainly  a 
mistake — for,  although  for  the  purposes  of  trade, 
free  access  was  permitted  to  foreigners,  yet  no  such 
privileges  were  conceded  as  would  have  made  a  per- 
manent residence  in  Athens  desirable.  Political 
franchise  or  citizenship  belonged  only  to  those  whose 
parents  were  both  citizens.  The  property  of  for- 
eigners who  died  in  Athens  was  appropriated  to 
public  use. 

The  principal  means  of  acquiring  citizenship  was 
miKtary  service.  This  service  was  the  peculiar  priv- 
ilege of  citizens,  but  emergencies  often  occurred 
when  there  was  a  demand  for  a  larger  force  than 
could  be  supplied  by  citizens,  especially  in  the 
naval  service.  In  most  cases,  foreigners  and  even 
slaves,  might  be  enrolled,  and  for  any  valuable 
achievement,  might  be  rewarded  by  a  gift  of  citizen- 
ship. It  is  not  known  with  certainty  how  the  de- 
scendants of  residents  who  were  natives,  but  not 
citizens,  were  regarded.  It  may  be  inferred,  how- 
ever, from  all  that  we  have  of  historical  data,  that 
no  one  could  claim  the  privileges  of  a  citizen  unless 
both  his  parents  were  cil'zcns.  This  must  have 
been  an  effectual  prohibition  of  marriage  between 
citizens  and  foreigners. 

1# 


12  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

It  is  most  likely  that  tlie  increase  of  citizens  was 
chiefly  from  slaves.  Though  this  might,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  be  called  a  foreign  element,  as  the 
slaves  were  of  alien  extraction,  it  can  hardly  he 
deemed  an  improvement  in  the  national  stock.  It 
was  better,  indeed,  that  the  slaves  should  be  free, 
but  the  nations  from  whom  those  slaves  had  been 
taken  were  inferior  to  the  Athenians — a  large  pro- 
portion were  Asiatic — and,  besides  the  habits  ac- 
quired by  slavery,  must  have  been  little  suited  to 
a  preparation  for  the  duties  of  citizens. 

The  most  remarkable  intermixture  in  European 
nations  was  that  of  the  Normans  and  Anglo-Saxons. 
The  latter  were  not  of  a  high  order  in  intellectual 
or  moral  character  ;  their  distinguishing  trait  was 
the  love  of  personal  freedom — ^but  the  lawlessness 
produced  by  the  propensity  which  every  man  had 
to  do  as  he  pleased,  was  destructive  of  the  very  free- 
dom which  was  so  much  prized.  The  power  of  the 
strong  prevailed  over  the  weak  ;  the  laws  were  in- 
effectual for  the  protection  of  the  common  people  ; 
it  had,  therefore,  become  necessary  for  the  lower 
class  to  seek  the  patronage  of  powerful  individuals 
of  the  nobility.  Even  the  lesser  Thanes  had  to  yield 
a  certain  fealty  to  those  of  higher  degree  ;  a  large 
proportion  of  the  nation  was  in  a  state  of  servitude 
before  the  Norman  conquest.  The  Norman  tyranny 
was  felt  chiefly  by  the  Saxon  nobility  and  large 
landholders,   but    the   condition   of   the    common 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  13 

people  was  improved  in  two  respects  ;  first,  by 
the  greater  authority  of  the  laws,  which,  though 
unequal  and  in  many  respects  oppressive,  were 
still  enforced  for  the  protection  of  the  common 
people  ;  second,  in  the  religious  influence  intro- 
duced by  the  Normans,  which  aiforded  many  aids 
to  the  poorer  class. 

The  Norman  race  was,  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest, intellectually  superior  to  the  Saxon — more 
accustomed  to  the  restraint  of  law,  and  more  habit- 
uated to  respect  for  religion.  The  character  of  the 
two  races  is  strongly  contrasted  by  the  systematic 
oppression  exercised  by  the  one  in  conformity  with 
laws,  and  the  tenacity  of  the  other  in  adhering  to 
usages  which  never  had  authority  by  legislative 
enactment,  but  which  were  indelibly  impressed  upon 
the  national  mind. 

It  is  probable  that  the  middle  class,  including 
those  of  the  lesser  Thanes  and  landholders,  who 
were  not  conspicuous  enough  to  become  the  sub- 
jects of  Korman  rapacity,  were  the  principal  assert- 
ers  of  traditional  rights.  The  personal  indepen- 
dence of  that  class  was  not  entirely  subverted  ; 
there  were  many  occasions  when  they  could  be  use- 
ful to  their  superior  lords,  and  their  united  power 
could  not  be  safely  contemned  by  any  Norman  baron. 

It  was  this  personal  independence,  this  strong 
adherence  to  the  Saxon  principle  of  yielding  obe- 
dience to  and  claiming  rights  in  accordance  with 


14:  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

usages  whicli  were  supposed  to  be  founded  upon 
voluntary  assent,  that  constituted  the  characteristic 
of  the  Saxon,  after  the  loss  of  his  national  liberty. 
The  degree  of  this  tenacity  is  best  proved  by  the 
result.  The  language  of  the  subject  race  finally 
obtained  the  ascendency,  as  did  also  that  unwritten 
law  so  long  contended  for,  and  which  was  gradually 
forced  upon  the  judges  by  the  pertinacity  of  the 
common  people. 

The  effect  of  intermarriage  of  the  two  races  is  of 
far  less  account  than  the  counteracting  forces  which 
were  brought  into  operation,  and  which  held  each 
other  in  check.  The  slow  progress  by  which  the 
English  character  was  developed,  has  contributed, 
no  doubt,  to  its  stability. 

The  experiment  is  now  being  tried  in  this  coun- 
try, for  the  first  time  in  the  world's  history,  of  the 
free  admission  of  foreigners  to  the  privileges  of  citi- 
zenship. The  result  of  that  experiment  cannot  now 
be  foreseen  with  certainty,  but  upon  it  depend  con- 
sequences which  cannot  be  calculated  by  the  most 
far-seeing  sagacity.  I  am  not  a  politician,  as  that 
term  is  commonly  understood,  viz.,  as  meaning  one 
whose  views  are  limited  to  t\iQ  present  objects  sought 
by  either  of  the  great  parties  of  the  country. 

The  speculations  which  have  occupied  my  mind 
are  rather  ethnological  than  political,  and  have  refe- 
rence to  changes  in  the  condition  of  this  country 
which  will  not  be  fully  developed  till  after  the  pres- 
ent generation  shall  have  passed  away. 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQTOIIES.  15 

No  one,  perhaps,  except  those  wlio  are  critically 
versed  in  the  history  of  other  nations,  is  aware  that 
there  never  has  been  a  single  precedent  of  the  indis- 
criminate admission  of  aliens  to  the  rights  of  citi- 
zenship until  it  was  tried  in  this  country.  The 
practice  in  England  was  the  nearest  approach  to 
it ;  but  the  privileges  conferred  by  the  English  laws 
consisted  only  of  security  of  life  and  liberty,  and  the 
right  of  acquiring  personal  property.  A  foreigner 
could  not  become  entitled  to  hold  real  estate  but  by 
act  of  Parliament ;  whether  the  elective  francTiise 
could  be  acquired  at  all,  might  admit  of  serious 
question — certainly  nothing  short  of  an  act  of  Par- 
liament would  be  sufficient. 

In  the  other  states  of  Europe,  previous  to  the 
first  French  revolution,  although  a  foreigner  had, 
under  certain  restrictions,  protection,  as  respected 
personal  liberty,  and  might,  to  some  extent,  ac- 
quire movable  property,  yet  at  his  death,  the  prop- 
erty left  belonged  to  the  state,  unless  he  left  heirs 
who  were  citizens  of  the  country  where  he  died. 

In  France,  the  '^Loi  d'Auhaine"  (forfeiture  of  the 
goods  of  an  alien)  was  abolished  by  the  Assembly 
of  1791,  but  was  restored  by  the  Napoleon  code, 
and  remained  in  force  until  1819,  when  the  more 
enlightened  practice  of  England  and  the  United 
States  was  adopted,  to  the  extent  of  allowing  per- 
sonal property  of  a  foreigner  to  be  disposed  of  by  will, 
or  to  descend  to  his  heirs,  whether  citizens  or  aliens. 


16 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 


In  Athens  the  residence  of  foreigners  was  en- 
couraged, but  the  privileges  of  a  citizen  could  be 
obtained  only  by  a  decree  of  two  successive  assem- 
blies of  the  people,  which  was  of  rare  occurrence, 
and  only  in  the  case  of  a  distinguished  person,  or 
some  one  who  had  rendered  great  service  to  the  re- 
public. The  property  of  foreigners  was  ordinarily 
appropriated  to  public  use. 

In  the  time  of  Demosthenes  there  were  21,000 
free  citizens  in  Athens — 10,000  strangers  ;  the  num- 
ber of  slaves  is  extravagantly  stated  at  400,000. 
The  enumeration  of  citizens  probably  included  only 
males,  or  those  who  were  entitled  to  vote,  or  to  sit 
in  the  Dikasteries.  Marriages  between  foreigners 
and  citizens  were  prohibited  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
none  were  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  citizens  except 
those  whose  parents  (father  and  mother)  were  citizens. 

At  Rome  a  foreigner  could  not  dispose  of  his 
property  hy  will — at  his  death  his  effects  belonged 
to  the  state,  or,  under  certain  circumstances,  to  his 
patron,  that  is  to  say,  some  Eoman  citizen  whose  pro- 
tection he  enjoyed  in  the  city.  The  right  of  voting 
in  the  assemblies  of  the  people  belonged  only  to  free 
citizens  of  Kome,  and  those  to  whom  by  law  citizen- 
ship had  been  extended.  This  was  for  a  long  time 
limited  to  the  Latin  States,  who  had  a  common 
origin  with  the  Komans,  and  were,  in  language  and 
customs,  essentially  the  same  people. 

Marriages  were  virtually  prohibited  at  Kome  be- 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 


l7 


tween  patricians   and   plebeians,   until  tlie  fourth  / 
century  of  the  nation,  when  the  Canuleian  law  was 
passed.     Previous  to  that  time  the  children  of  a  ( 
patrician   father   and   plebeian  mother  were  heirs  ! 
only  of  the  mother. 

The  employment  of  a  large  number  of  seamen  in 
the  Athenian  war  made  a  change  in  the  citizenship 
at  Syracuse,  by  which  the  popular  party  acquired 
strength.  Hermocrates  and  his  aristocratic  friends 
were  banished — Dionysius,  not  distinguished  by 
birth  or  fortune,  who  belonged  to  the  party  of  Her- 
mocrates, obtained  control  of  the  populace,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  exiles  recalled,  and  then,  in 
appropriating  to  himself  supreme  power,  which  he 
retained  until  his  death,  a  period  of  forty  years.  He 
admitted  to  citizenship  a  large  number  of  enfran- 
chised slaves,  and  employed  mercenary  soldiers  in 
place  of  the  citizens  of  Syi'acuse  of  better  class. 

At  Carthage,  there  was  an  aristocracy  of  wealth 
rather  than  nobility  by  birth.  The  character  of  the 
people  was  commercial,  and  the  soldiers  employed 
in  war  were  chiefly  foreign.  Little  is  known  of  the 
political  rights  of  the  citizens  of  Carthage,  or  what 
constituted  citizenship.  The  government  was  ad- 
ministered by  a  Senate,  which  was  a  large  body  of 
men  (how  chosen  does  not  appear),  by  whom  an 
executive,  consisting  of  one  hundred  commission- 
ers, called  the  Council  of  the  Elders,  was  ap- 
pointed. 


XI. 


COMPENSATIONS  OF  LIFE;  OK, 
EQUIVALENTS  IN  THE  CONDI- 
TIONS   OF    MEN. 


It  would  seem,  from  tlie  uniformity  with  which 
men  pursue  after  certain  things,  as  wealth  or  power, 
that  these  were  the  greatest  sources  of  happiness, 
or  were  in  themselves  most  to  be  desired  of  all  the 
objects  of  human  pursuit.  The  testimony  of  those 
who  have  attained  them  is  wholly  opposed  to  this 
hypothesis,  but  the  world  is  still  no  wiser.  How  is 
this  to  be  accounted  for  ?  Probably  it  is  because 
men  will  seek  the  gratification  of  their  ruling  pas- 
sions, whatever  may  be  the  result,  and  even  with 
the  strongest  reason  to  expect  that  it  will  end  in 
disappointment. 

There  is  no  passion  so  strong  as  the  desire  of 
]power.  Wealth  is  the  means  of  power,  and  this  is 
a  principal  reason  why  it  is  sought ;  for  although 
men  who  have  strong  sensual  propensities  are  usu- 
ally unscrupulous  as  to  the  means  of  indulgence, 
yet  these  are  ordinarily  satisfied  if  they  have  enough 
for  the  present  object,  and  exhibit  little  care  and 
assiduity  in  laying  up  a  fortune  for  future  use. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  19 

It  is  a  common  inquiry,  what  is  the  specific  in- 
fluence of  ambition  in  the  world  ?  is  there  a  balance 
of  evil  or  of  good  in  its  results  ?  Enterprise  in  busi- 
ness, indeed  energy  in  all  the  pursuits  of  life,  seem 
to  depend  upon  it,  yet  it  has  been  the  source  of  the 
chief  disorders  in  human  society. 

Our  present  inquiry,  however,  is  what  it  con- 
tributes to  the  happiness  of  those  who  are  swayed 
by  this  passion,  assuming  that  they  are  successful 
in  obtaining  their  end,  so  far  as  success  may  be  pre- 
dicated of  any  objects  of  pursuit  in  this  world. 
Do  they  obtain  that  which,  according  to  popular 
opinion,  is  an  incident,  viz.,  a  condition  of  enjoy- 
ment superior  to  that  of  other  men  ? 

The  answer  is  obvious,  but  lest  it  should  be 
taken  as  a  mere  speculative  theory,  let  some  of  the 
counterbalances  be  considered. 

Who  ever  attained  success  that  has  not  been,  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  unscrupulous,  and  by  con- 
sequence become  subject  to  the  rebuke  of  his  own 
conscience  ?  Who  has  not,  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
object,  done  things  to  be  repented  of,  sacrificed  the 
claims  of  private  friendship,  and  violated  laws 
essential  to  the  well  being  of  society  ?  Again,  suc- 
cess is  usually  the  result  of  assiduous,  untiring  pur- 
suit, and  this,  of  itself,  involves  an  exclusion  of 
regard  for  others — it  is,  in  fact,  wholly  selfish. 
Where  are  the  friends  of  such  a  person  ?  Depend- 
ents or  hangers-on  they  may  have,  but  the  condi- 


20  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

tions  of  friendship  are  wholly  wanting.  Lastly,  no 
one  has  attained  such  a  result  but  through  many 
trials  and  disappointments  ;  evil  passions  have  been 
aroused  which  cannot  be  fully  gratified.  Even  the 
usurper  of  power,  who  has  become  despotic,  has 
not  the  power  to  annihilate  public  opinion  ;  he 
knows  that  he  is  hated,  and  that  those  who  have 
fallen  are  more  cherished  in  the  remembrance  of 
men.  On  a  lesser  scale  a  man  who  has  acquired 
high  station  by  persevering  effort,  has  to  look  back 
upon  a  course  of  life  devoted  to  selfish  ends,  and 
which  will  be  unhonored  when  he  comes  to  be  judged 
by  the  world  ;  then  there  is  the  uneasiness  as  to  re- 
taining possession  of  what  he  has  acquired — the 
jealousy  of  rivals — the  hatred  of  those  who  have 
sought  unsuccessfully  the  same  honors. 

One  illustration  so  striking  as  this  goes  far  to 
prove  that  all  conditions  are  subject  to  counter- 
balances, for  if  that  which,  by  common  consent  of 
mankind,  is  most  desirable,  is  in  reality  so  little  to 
be  desired  in  itself,  what  shall  be  thought  of  inferior 
objects  of  pursuit  ?  All  men  seem  to  be  discon- 
tented with  what  they  have,  or  to  suppose  that 
some  other  condition  would  be  better.  Often  this 
may  be  a  vague,  unsettled  discontent  with  what 
they  have,  rather  than  a  decided  preference  for  an- 
other lot,  so  that  if  it  should  be  said  to  them  that 
their  wish  should  be  granted,  or  in  the  language  of 
Horace — 


ETHICAL  AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  21 

"Hine  vos, 
Vos  hine  mutatis  discedite  partibus," 

they  would  be  found  not  prepared  to  take  advan- 
tage of  it. 

To  the  invalid  health  is  the  object  of  supreme 
desire,  and  is  esteemed  the  greatest  of  human  bless- 
ings, yet  could  we  know  intimately  the  history  of 
the  man  who  has  had  no  experience  of  bodily  ail- 
ments, he  would  probably  hesitate  to  make  an  ex- 
change of  conditions.  He  might  find  unchecked 
sensuality  a  pursuit  of  self  gratification,  with  no 
kindly  sympathy  for  any  human  suffering — no 
generous  regard  for  the  welfare  of  others — no  sense 
of  responsibility  to  a  Supreme  and  Holy  Being  ; 
or  if,  by  education  and  happy  association,  there 
should  be  some  sense  of  moral  rectitude  and  reli- 
gious sanction,  it  may,  perhaps,  be  but  a  mere 
theory,  assented  to  as  a  thing  of  course,  but  having 
no  vital  influence  on  his  thoughts  and  feelings. 
Or,  lastly,  suppose  the  best  phase  of  character,  and 
that  there  is  even  moral  and  religious  sense,  so  far 
as  it  may  subsist  without  the  chastening  effect  of 
bodily  ailments,  there  may  be  other  trials — indeed, 
every  man  has,  sooner  or  later  in  life,  trials  of  some 
sort,  and  in  general  it  may  be  said  that,  in  the  full 
possession  of  physical  vigor,  there  is  a  lack  of  the 
reflective  habit,  of  the  calm,  considerate,  conscien- 
tious tone  of  mind  which  is  essential  to  a  sound 
character,  or  even  to  the  proper  enjoyment  of  life. 


22  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL     INQUIKIES. 

To  one  struggling  under  the  discomforts  of  jpov- 
erty,  no  state  seems  comparable  to  that  of  affluence  ; 
yet  let  the  poor  man  remember  what  the  apostle 
says  :  "  Godliness  with  contentment  is  great  gain/'* 
Utter  destitution  is,  indeed,  a  condition  of  misery ; 
but  to  be  obscure,  to  have  enough  only  for  the  ordi- 
nary wants  of  our  nature,  and  therefore  to  be  with- 
out the  consequence  which  riches  confer,  is  not  only 
not  inconsistent  with  enjoyment,  but  if  religioijs 
feeling  and  a  contented  mind  be  superadded,  is  per- 
haps highest  in  the  scale  of  happiness. 

There  is  a  wrong  judgment  prevailing  in  the  world 
on  this  subject.  Religion  does  not  half  fulfil  its 
office  while  it  leaves  so  great  an  error  unrebuked  as 
the  common  idea  that  affluence  is  the  chief  element 
of  a  happy  life. 

Again  :  beauty  of  person  is  a  natural  endowment, 
which  is  much  prized,  and  certainly  a  man  is  com- 
mended to  the  favor  of  all  persons  by  fine  propor- 
tions and  a  pleasing  countenance.  If  we  should 
suppose  that  to  this  be  added  a  competence  of  for- 
tune and  high  position  by  family  connection,  may 
it  not  be  supposed  that  to  such  a  one  life  has  a 
charm  that  is  denied  to  others  ?  The  houses  of 
opulent  and  fashionable  families  are  open  to  him — 
he  is  everywhere  greeted  with  a  smile  of  welcome — 


•  I  think  this  precept  is  to  be  understood,  that  a  bare  sufficiency  for  our  physical 
comfort  ifl  all  that  is  to  be  desired  ;  less  than  this  is  a  State  of  actual  suffering ;  but 
most  of  the  evils  which  men  suppose  to  be  incident  to  the  want  of  riches,  consist  in 
he  privation  of  means  for  the  gratification  of  selfish  propensities. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  23 

even  the  scenes  of  nature  should  wear  a  lovelier 
aspect  when  all  the  conditions  of  his  life  conduce  so 
much  to  self-complacency. 

But  let  us  look  a  little  farther.  A  vain  and 
frivolous  conceit  may  be  the  result  of  flattery,  or 
there  may  be  an  utter  abandonment  to  sensual 
pleasure,  which  is  presented  to  him  under  circum- 
stances of  great  enticement  and  facility  of  gratifi- 
cation— a  vitiated  constitution,  ailments  never  to 
be  recovered  from,  premature  prostration  of  mind 
and  body,  perhaps  an  early  death — these  are  some 
of  the  incidents  of  unchecked  license  in  the  course 
of  pleasure.  Or,  suppose  that  by  fortunate  associ- 
ation, or  a  greater  degree  of  worldly  wisdom  than 
falls  to  the  lot  of  most  men,  his  enjoyment  of  plea- 
sure shall  have  been  so  moderated  that  health  is  not 
impaired,  yet  it  may  be  that  a  selfish,  unsympa- 
thetic temper  may  have  been  developed  ;  it  need 
not  be  the  malignant  passion  of  a  Commodus,  but 
the  effeminate,  self-conceited,  ignoble  propensities 
of  an  Elagahalus.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  the 
tendency  of  such  a  condition,  enviable  as  it  may  be 
thought  to  be,  is  to  oppress  and  prevent  the  develop- 
ment of  those  qualities  upon  which,  after  all,  true 
happiness  depends.  An  artificial  existence  takes 
the  place  of  the  natural.  There  may  be  social  feel- 
ing, but  it  is  a  heartless  conviviality — the  mere 
buoyancy  of  a  phyisical  elasticity.  No  kindly  sym- 
pathy was  ever  yet  generated  without  some  disci- 


24:  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

pline  of  the  soul  by  trials,  or  by  the  influence  of 
religion  on  the  heart ;  but  this  last  is  uncongenial 
with  the  pampered  child  of  fortune,  and  almost  by 
necessity  disjoined  by  an  immeasurable  interval. 

It  deserves  to  be  considered,  also,  that  when  trials 
do  come — and  no  man  is  wholly  exempt — it  will  be 
the  more  difficult  to  bear  them,  for  the  very  reason 
that  there  has  never  been  humiliation  of  spirit,  or 
the  repose  of  a  mind  accustomed  to  fall  back  upon 
its  own  resources.  Frantic  agitation — a  breaking 
of  the  heart,  unalleviated  by  the  softening  influence 
of  well-tried  friendship — is  not  this  often  the  experi- 
ence of  those  whom  the  world  envies  and  adulates  ? 

If,  however,  it  could  be  understood  by  all  what 
there  is  of  comparative  comfort  in  their  own  par- 
ticular condition,  and  what  is  the  real  extent  of 
enjoyment  in  the  condition  of  those  seemingly  more 
favored,  there  would  be  a  great  advance  in  true 
knowledge.  We  are  strangely  imposed  upon  by 
mere  outward  show.  The  inmate  of  a  luxurious 
carriage,  rolling  along  the  street,  an  object  of  envy 
to  her  pedestrian  sisterhood,  perhaps  derives  from 
this  invidious  homage  her  chief  satisfaction  ;  and 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  she  were  assured  that  all  the 
lookers-on  were  contented  to  be  without  the  super- 
fluity which  constitutes  her  distinction,  and  that 
they  were  satisfied  with  the  healthful  glow  imparted 
by  the  natural  use  of  their  own  limbs,  her  expensive 
luxury  would  lose  its  charm. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  25 

Burns  lias  described  the  state  of  the  poverty- 
stricken  laborer  as  having  some  equivalent : 

"  Ye  maist  wad  think  a  wee  touch  langer 
An'  they  maun  starve  with  cauld  and  hunger, 
But  how  it  comes  I  never  kenned  yet, 
They're  maistly  wonderfu'  contented  ; 
An'  buirdly  chiels  and  clever  hizzies 
Are  bred  in  sic  a  way  as  this  is. " 

Dr.  Kane  relates  that  he  was  much  impressed  by 
the  glee  and  merry  laughter  of  a  party  of  Esqui- 
maux children,  who  had  taken  advantage  of  a 
moderation  of  temperature  to  sport  in  the  open  air, 
though  the  cold  was  still  such  as  in  our  latitude 
would  have  been  deemed  intolerable.  "  Strange," 
was  his  reflection,  "  that  these  famine-pinched  wan- 
derers of  the  ice  should  rejoice  in  sports  and  play- 
things, like  the  children  of  our  own  smiling  sky. 
How  strange  is  this  joyous  merriment  under  the 
desolate  shadow  of  these  jagged  ice-cliffs." 


xxz. 

IDENTITY. 


A  Tree  is  the  same  wlien  it  is  young  and  old, 
and  even  when  it  has  lost  its  branches  and  is  but  a 
decaying  trunk.  Its  locality  or  fixedness  in  a  par- 
ticular place  forms  a  part  of  our  idea  ;  observation 
of  it  in  its  various  changes  is  also  of  some  effect  in 
keeping  the  identity  in  our  minds,  but  so  long  as 
the  outward  form  remains  substantially  the  same 
we  recognize  the  tree  in  all  its  variations  of  growth 
and  decay. 

A  living  organized  body  constitutes  the  identity 
of  an  animal.  The  idea  of  a  man  (says  Locke*)  is 
of  an  animal  of  such  a  certain  form  that  we  should 
have  that  idea  of  any  creature  having  our  shape, 
although  destitute  of  reason,  and  that  we  could  not 
have  the  same  idea  of  an  animal  of  any  other  shape, 
though  it  should  have  reason  and  speech. 

The  outward  appearance,  it  is  true,  is  the  man 
that  we  have  the  idea  of  in  thinking  of  a  man,  but 
there  is  more  than  shape — there  is  the  expression 
of  character  in  the  face  and  bodily  motion.  If  this 
expression  should  be  totally  changed  it  would  no 

*  "  Locke  on  the  Underetanding, "  b.  2,  c.  27, 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIBIES.  27 

longer  be  the  same  person,  although  the  figure 
should  remain  the  same. 

The  indications  of  character  constitute  essentially 
the  individual,  and  if  these  could  be  transferred  to 
another  body,  and  this  he  known  hy  us,  we  should 
recognize  the  identity.  The  recollection  of  a  man's 
character,  as  displayed  in  his  conversation  and  acts, 
makes  the  Homoousion,  as  the  reminiscence  of  our 
thoughts  makes  the  identity  of  our  own  being. 

The  case  supposed  by  Locke,  that  if  we  were  sure 
that  the  soul  of  Heliogahalus  was  in  a  hog,  we 
should  not,  therefore,  suppose  the  hog  to  be  Helio- 
gahalus, does  not  at  all  decide  the  question. 

In  the  first  place,  we  cannot  conceive  of  charac- 
ter except  by  some  external  expression,  and  hence 
we  could  have  no  idea  of  a  human  soul  in  a  brute 
animal,  which  has  no  expression,  nor  could  we 
identify  the  soul  even  in  another  human  body  which 
should  be  without  features  or  other  physiognomic 
instrumentality  for  expressing  the  qualities  of  the 
soul. 

But,  second,  the  character  of  every  man  is  so  in- 
timately connected  with  his  corporeal  structure,  so 
much  derived  from  and  dependent  on  its  peculiari- 
ties, that  the  whole  character  could  not  exist  in  any 
other  structure,  and  could  not,  of  course,  be  recog- 
nized by  us  as  entirely  identical. 

This  limitation,  it  will  be  understood,  is  appli- 
cable to  the  hypothetical  case  which  I  have  assumed 

2 


28  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

in  a  former  remark,  as  to  the  probable  identity  of  an 
individual,  even  if  a  change  of  body  was  possible. 

In  di,  future  state  of  existence  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  same  body  is  necessary  for  perfect  identification, 
but  we  may  suppose  a  prescience  then  so  clear  that 
the  soul  may  be  discerned  by  its  intrinsic  constitu- 
ents without  the  necessity  of  any  outward  indica- 
tions. 

Personal  identity  (that  is,  a  man's  identity  in 
his  own  consciousness)  has  been  made  by  some 
writers  to  depend  on  memory,  and  a  doubt  has  been 
raised  whether  a  man  (i.  e.  the  living  being)  is  at 
all  times  the  same.*  It  is  said,  on  the  one  hand, 
not  to  be  the  same,  because  the  consciousness  of  his 
existence  at  any  two  moments  is  not  the  same  indi- 
vidual action — i.  e.,  not  the  same  consciousness,  but 
different  successive  consciousnesses.  The  fallacy  of 
this  has  been  exposed  by  Butler.  Consciousness 
(he  says)  presupposes  and  does  not  constitute  per- 
sonal identity.  The  idea  of  this  identity  arises  upon 
comparing  our  existence  at  different  periods  of  time, 
as  we  have  the  idea  of  similitude  by  comparing 
triangles. 

The  consciousness  here  referred  to  is  a  perception 
that  the  thinking,  sentient  being,  is  the  same  now 


*  stated  by  Locke  thus  :  "  Whether  the  same  person  be  the  same  identical  sub- 
Btance ;"  and  he  defines  '■'•person'''  to  be  "  a  thinking,  intelligent  being."  Which 
proposition  (says  Butler)  is  asking  whether  the  same  rational  being  is  the  same 
substance — which  needs  no  answer,  because  being  and  substance  stand  here  for  the 
ame  idea.    See  "  Butler's  Diss,  on  Pers.  Ident." 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUERIES.  29 

as  formerly — which  is  equivalent  to  the  knowledge 
we  have  from  observation  that  any  other  object  is 
the  same  now  as*  when  contemplated  before. 

It  appears  to  me  that  our  identity  consists  in  the 
constitution  of  our  being,  by  which  we  are  made 
subject  to  certain  impulses  or  motives  of  action,  and 
peculiar  modifications  of  thought  and  feeling,  which 
together  make  the  individual  character  ;  and  this  is 
unchanging  through  life,  though  it  may  be  more  or 
less  developed  in  degree — and,  so  long  as  the  actu- 
ating principle  exists  and  is  perceived,  so  long  it  is 
the  same  individual  mind  or  being,  both  in  our  own 
consciousness  and  as  observed  by  others. 


NECESSITY. 


As  applied  to  human  action,  necessity  must  mean 
the  control  of  the  will,  for  there  never  was  any  ques- 
tion that  our  actions  were  immediately  directed  by 
our  volition.  Locke  explains  it  with  considerable 
verbal  nicety,  after  the  manner  of  the  old  scholastic 
reasoning,  that  the  will  is  moved  by  a  present  un- 
easiness, which,  whether  it  be  a  sensual  want,  as 
hunger,  or  any  other  craving,  has  a  greater  deter- 
mining power  than  any  good  of  more  intrinsic  value 
but  more  remote. 

'  This  is  in  substance  a  determination  of  the  will 
by  motives  ;  but  the  question  still  remains,  by  what 
law  or  agency  do  motives  operate — not  as  a  matter 
of  fact  what  effect  a  motive  actually  has — ^but  in 
what  manner  a  motive  determines  to  a  particular 
action. 

As  a  rule  of  general  application,  we  would  not 
say  that  the  same  motive  would  invariably  deter- 
mine men  to  the  same  actions  ;  but,  speaking  of  an 
individual,  it  may  be  said  that  a  motive  does  act 
with  certainty — so  that  if  we  knew  ^perfectly  the 
constitution  of  a  man's  mind,  we  should  be  able  to 


ETHICAL    A]^D    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQIJIEIES.  31 

calculate  what  his  action  would  be  under  any  given 
circumstances.  And  such  is  the  homogeneity  of 
different  minds,  that  a  proximate  degree  of  unifor- 
mity is  seen  in  the  actions  of  men,  when  acted  upon 
by  the  same  motives. 

This  is,  in  fact,  the  foundation  of  our  reasoning 
in  respect  to  human  actions — and  from  the  con- 
formity of  motives  and  actions,  Hume  asserts,  that 
necessity  is  as  fully  made  out  as  it  is  in  the  mate- 
rial world.  Our  idea  of  necessity,  in  the  operations 
of  nature  (he  says),  is  an  inference  from  the  constant 
conjunction  of  certain  things  ;  and  this  conjunction 
equally  exists  in  human  conduct,  and  an  inference 
may  be  made  with  the  like  certainty  from  motives 
as  to  the  voluntary  action  that  will  ensue — from 
character  as  to  the  conduct  that  will  be  pursued. 

Moral  influences  or  motives  have  not  equal  cer- 
tainty in  their  effect  with  _  physical  causes,  so  far  as 
appears  to  our  observation,  but  this  is  perhaps  only 
the  imperfection  of  our  perception.  Long  experi- 
ence, and  habit  of  observation,  will  give  a  foresight 
of  the  conduct  of  men,  that  seems  to  less  disciplined 
minds  an  extraordinary  gift,  but  which  in  reality  is 
nothing  more  than  superior  knowledge  of  the  dispo- 
sition or  natural  tendency  of  the  human  mind. 
Knowing  this,  calculation  is  very  certain  as  to  con- 
duct, and  I  think  it  may  be  laid  down  as  a  general 
proposition  that  the  actions  of  men  are  determined 
with  certainty  by  motives — that  is  to  say,  that  it  is 


32  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

not  by  chance  whicli  way  the  mind  shall  decide,  but 
that  it  is  absolutely  and  invariably  determined  to  a 
certain  action  by  a  particular  motive. 

Now  how  much  soever  a  motive,  as  presented  to 
different  minds,  may  vary  in  its  determining  power, 
yet  to  every  mind  it  has  a  certain  adaptedness,  pro- 
ducing its  specific  effect,  just  as  by  the  laws  of  na- 
ture one  element  will,  in  any  number  of  experiments, 
unite  with  other  elements  in  a  uniform  manner, 
well  known  beforehand  to  the  chemist. 

Edwards  explains  it,  that  the  will  is  determined 
by  "  that  motive  which,  as  it  stands  in  the  view  of 
the  mind,  is  the  strongest  ;^'  that  the  strength  of  a 
motive  is  its  tendency  to  move  the  will,  and  that 
this  tendency  is  according  to  the  apparent  good,  so 
that  "  the  will  always  is  as  the  greatest  apparent 
good  is." 

Moral  inability  he  defines  to  be  the  want  of  incli- 
nation, or  the  strength  of  a  contrary  inclination, 
which  is  the  same  thing  as  the  want  of  a  sufficient 
motive,  or  the  strength  of  an  opposing  motive.  The 
will  cannot  act  contrary  to  the  strongest  motive,  for 
that  would  be  to  suppose  the  will  other  than  it  is  ; 
but  there  may  be  opposition  to,  or  an  endeavor 
against  future  inclinations,  or  which  is  the  same 
thing,  against  the  power  of  future  motives.  His 
argument  as  to  the  consistency  of  moral  inability 
with  legal  requirements,  is  that  wickedness  would 
otherwise    be     always     excused,    as    the    greater 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIIIIES.  33 

the  wickedness  the  greater  the  inability  (that  is, 
want  of  inclination).  But,  according  to  the  com- 
mon sense  of  mankind,  men  are  held  deserving  of 
praise  or  blame  according  to  their  actions,  without 
any  abstract  question  as  to  the  want  of  inclination 
or  motive. 

The  opposite  theory,  viz.,  what  is  called  the  self- 
determining  power  of  the  will,  is  this — that  the  soul 
has  a  sort  of  prerogative  by  which  it  can  act,  inde- 
pendent of  motives — or,  in  other  words,  contrary  to 
the  strongest  motive.  But  there  is  an  evident  con- 
fusion of  terms  in  this  proposition.  It  is  apparent 
that  motive  is  used  as  synonymous  with  reason,  and 
with  that  explanation  it  is  undeniable  that  men  do 
not  always  act  in  accordance  with  the  strongest 
motive  (^.  e.  reason).  This  is,  indeed,  nothing  else 
than  to  say  that  the  actions  of  men  are  often  at 
variance  with  what  they  know  to  be  right.  Nay,  it 
may  be  admitted  that  our  nature  is  so  perverse  that 
we  sometimes  do  what  we  know,  or  by  reflection 
might  know,  is  not  for  our  interest — assuming,  what 
I  am,  however,  not  willing  to  concede,  that  interest 
and  right  can  ever  be  separated. 

But,  in  such  cases,  the  ruling  motive  is  a  per- 
verted desire,  which  cannot  be  restrained  by  a  sense 
of  what  is  just  and  proper.  This  seems  to  me  to  be 
the  extent  of  the  doctrine  of  the  self-determi- 
nation of  the  will,  when  reduced  to  exact  phrase- 
ology. 


34  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

Buslmell,^'  who  insists  strongly  upon  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  will,  yet  virtually  concedes  all  that 
in  fact  legitimately  results  from  dependence  upon 
motives,  while  he  seems  to  be  singularly  unconscious 
of  the  concession.  ^'  If  it  be  true/'  he  says,  "that 
the  wrong-doer  chooses  what  to  him  is  the  strongest 
motive,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  he  acts  in  the 
way  of  a  scalebeam,  swayed  by  the  heaviest  weight, 
for  the  strength  of  the  motive  may  consciously  he 
derived,  in  great  part,  from  what  his  own  perver- 
sity puts  into  it." 

The  perversity  here  spoken  of,  or,  as  it  may  be 
called,  wrong-mindedness,  is  an  adaptation  of  the 
mind  to  be  acted  upon  by  wrong  motives  ;  never- 
theless, the  determination  of  such  a  mind  is  as  posi- 
tive a  result  of  motive,  wrong  though  it  be,  as  the 
wisest  decision  of  a  strictly  conscientious  man  is  the 
result  of  a  better  motive. 

*  "  Nature  and  the  Supernatural,"  c.  2. 


AUTHOKSHIP. 


"  Never  write  a  book/'  said  Talleyrand ;  "  if  you 
do  we  shall  know  all  your  brains  are  worth,  for  as 
many  francs  as  your  book  will  cost.  No  man  of 
sense  writes  books  ;  the  emperor  writes  no  books 
(this  was  said  before  Bonaparte  was  sent  to  St. 
Helena),  Socrates  never  wrote  a  book." 

"While  a  man  is  living  he  will  perhaps  have  more 
repute  for  wisdom  if  he  be  considered  able  to  write 
but  does  not,  in  the  same  way  that,  as  Bacon  says 
(speaking  of  conversation),  ^'  If  you  dissemble  some- 
times that  you  are  thought  to  know,  you  shall  an- 
other time  be  thought  to  know  that  you  do  not.'' 
But  traditional  wisdom  is  fugitive,  and  has  no  last- 
ing influence,  except  when  a  chronicler  is  found  to 
record  the  original  utterances.  Socrates  was  im- 
mortalized by  his  disciples,  especially  by  Plato, 
who  reproduced  the  thoughts  expressed  by  his  mas- 
ter in  public  discourses,  or  is  supposed  to  have 
done  so. 

Dr.  Johnson  is  as  famous  now  for  his  conversation 
as  he  was  with  his  cotemporaries,  which  we  owe  to 
his  biographer,  Boswell.     But  in  general,  what  do 

2# 


36  ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

we  know  of  men  renowned  in  their  own  times,  but 
wlio  had  no  leisure  for  authorship  ?  Some  of  their 
sayings  may  be  recorded,  but  they  are  for  the  most 
part  mere  historical  figures,  known  by  their  actions 
and  not  by  their  thoughts. 

Want  of  time  may  interfere,  in  many  cases,  with 
literary  employment,  but  no  one  is  indifferent  to 
fame  as  an  author.  Literary  vanity  is  the  most  in- 
ordinate of  human  passions.  Why  is  it  that  emu- 
lation is  so  great  where  the  chance  is  so  slight  of 
any  lasting  distinction,  at  least  as  respects  the 
larger  number  of  authors.  The  pleasure  of  compo- 
sition is  suggested  as  the  chief  incitement  to  lite- 
rary labor.  "These,"  says  Buffon,  "are  the  most 
luxurious  and  delightful  moments  of  life,  which 
have  often  enticed  me  to  pass  fourteen  hours  a  day 
at  my  desk,  in  a  state  of  transport ;  this  gratifica- 
tion, more  than  glory,  is  my  reward." 

But  this  gratification  would  not  exist  but  for  this 
glory  that  is  in  the  mind's  vision.  The  author's 
pleasure  in  the  happy  expression  of  a  thought,  or 
illustration  of  a  truth,  is  mainly  founded  upon  the 
effect  which  it  will  have  upon  other  minds.  He 
may  be  willing  to  wait  patiently  for  years,  till  his 
labors  shall  be  completed,  and  he  shall  come  forth 
by  publication  into  association  with  the  world  of 
thought,  and  be  known  familiarly,  not  as  the  pri- 
vate individual,  but  by  the  title  of  his  book.  Yet, 
while  thus  toiling,  he  is  continually  cheered  by  the 


ETHICAL    AND    I'lIYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  di 

ovation  which  lies  before  him  in  prospect,  when 
men  shall  come  to  know  the  productions  upon 
which  so  man}^  solitary  hours  have  been  employed. 

"  Solitude  would  not  be  endured/'  as  has  been 
said  by  some  one,  I  do  not  recollect  whom,  "if  we 
did  not  cherish  the  hope  of  a  social  circle  in  the 
future,  or  the  imagination  of  an  invisible  one  in  the 
present." 

The  author  has,  in  fact,  an  imaginary  audience 
continually  in  his  view,  and  it  is  the  supposed  sym- 
pathy of  their  minds  which  creates  his  chiefest 
pleasure. 

A  second  source  of  gratification  to  an  author  is 
more  real,  viz.,  the  applause  of  the  friends  imme- 
diately about  him ;  and  perhaps  this  has,  after  all, 
a  more  direct  power  than  the  vague  expectation  of 
renown  among  those  whom  he  will  never  see. 

One  case  there  is  in  which  the  expression  of  our 
thoughts  may  be  in  itself  an  end,  and  not  the  pre- 
liminary to  something  beyond.  It  is  when  a  man 
has,  by  severe  trials,  been  forced  to  seek  resources 
in  himself,  when  he  has  been  oppressed  by  afflic- 
tion, and  the  sympathy  of  friends  has  failed,  or 
where  the  trial  has  been  so  overwhelming  that  hu- 
man sympathy  is  valueless — to  such  a  one  self^ 
communion  is  a  solace  and  a  source  of  strength  ; 
but  especially  is  it  so  when  the  soul  has,  from  the 
gloom  of  its  own  solitariness,  found  access  to  God, 
and  the  light  of  the  spiritual  world  has  broken  in 


38  ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   imiUIRIES. 

upon  it.  Thoughts  and  emotions  then  crowd  upon 
the  mind  which  it  is  unwilling  to  lose  its  hold  of  ; 
it  seeks  to  secure  the  memory  of  them  by  a  perma- 
nent record  ;  in  time  it  may  become  a  habit  to 
transcribe  all  its  impressions  ;  yet  who  can  say  that 
even  in  such  a  case  there  is  not  a  melancholy  fore- 
thought that  this  record  shall  be  seen  by  other  eyes, 
and  that  sympathy  shall  be  awakened  when  it  shall 
no  longer  be  of  any  avail. 

To  write  for  the  entertainment  of  those  who  shall 
read  or  hear,  is  very  different  from  writing  merely 
to  convince.  It  is  one  thing  to  think  correctly  and 
another  to  express  what  we  think  agreeably.  It  is 
a  prevalent  tendency  to  seek  popular  applause 
rather  than  practical  instruction — to  please  a  criti- 
cal taste  rather  than  to  instruct  the  understanding. 
It  is  true  that  we  are  instructed  not  solely  by  logi- 
cal argument ;  we  are  actuated  more  by  impulse 
than  by  reason  ;  we  need  sound  views,  presented 
in  a  clear  and  impressive  manner,  without  exagge- 
ration, but  most  writers  and  speakers  aim  at  eclat. 
They  would  prefer  to  be  admired  for  genius  rather 
than  for  sound  wisdom.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  natural  for  men  to  be  more  pleased  with  the  mere 
conceptions  of  imagination  than  with  profound 
thought  ;  the  former  task  the  mind  less,  and  do 
not  interfere  so  much  as  the  other  with  the  self- 
complacency  of  the  reader. 

The  great  multiplication  of  books  is  sometimes 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  39 

spoken  of  as  an  evil,  but  this  is  true  only  in  one 
sense,  viz.,  so  far  as  they  are  superficial  or  trashy. 
When  there  is  a  prevalent  propensity  to  authorship 
it  is  a  natural  incident  that  there  will  be  a  great 
deal  of  frivolous  writing,  or  that  the  same  ideas  will 
be  often  reproduced.  The  effect  of  the  periodical 
literature  of  the  present  day  on  the  public  mind,  is, 
in  my  judgment,  not  favorable  to  a  muscular  tone. 
Newspapers,  literary  magazines,  and  the  like,  must, 
in  order  to  please  popular  taste,  consist  of  light  but 
various  material.  They  are  suggestive  of  many  in- 
teresting inquiries,  but  this  is  of  little  value  to  any 
but  systematic  thinkers,  and  generally  the  effect  is 
only  to  distract  the  mind  and  impair  a  habit  of 
consecutive  thought.  It  is  true  that  those  who 
thiDk  much  are  also  great  readers,  even  of  this  fugi- 
tive sort  of  productions.  This  is  partly  for  relax- 
ation, but  also  for  the  new  ideas  which  may  be  de- 
rived from  a  heterogeneous  source,  when  there  is 
strong  power  of  assimilation.  Such  reading  may 
be  compared  to  conversation  of  the  gossiping  kind, 
which  may  be  supposed  to  be  of  no  great  advantage, 
yet  Sir  Walter  Scott  said  he  never  met  with  any 
man  from  whom  he  could  not  learn  something  in 
conversation.'-'  So  of  books  ;  it  has  become  almost 
a  proverbial  saying  that  there  is  none  that  does  not 
contain  something  that  is  valuable.f     Macaulay's 


•Fortunes  of  Nigel,  C.  27 

t  Pliny  made  the  remark,  and  it  baa  often  been  repeated  since. 


40  ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

History  of  England  indicates  an  omniverous  habit 
of  mind  ;  materials  are  turned  to  valuable  account 
which  we  should  hardly  have  supposed  would  have 
attracted  the  attention  of  any  one  but  a  frivolous 
antiquarian — old  songs^  obsolete  plays,  pamphlets, 
newspapers,  traditional  proverbs — and  these  not 
hunted  up  merely  for  the  occasion,  for  that  would 
have  been  impossible,  but  constituting  a  familiar 
lore.* 

The  chief  value  of  Plutarch's  Lives  I  consider  to 
be  the  affluence  of  anecdotes,  apophthegms,  and 
slight  incidents,  which  were  contemned  by  stately 
historians,  and  which  he  was  compelled  to  obtain 
by  a  process  of  filtration,  involving  research  into  a 
vast  amount  of  gossiping  productions,  or  what  were 
so  esteemed,  and  had  not  sufficient  merit  to  reach 
us,  except  in  the  excerpts  penned  by  this  most  eru- 
dite of  ancient  writers. 


*  Hume,  as  an  historian,  was  defective  in  this  respect.  A  paragraph  from  the 
Edinburgh  Review  is  worth  quotation.  "  His  acquaintance  with  English  litera- 
ture was  imperfect,  in  a  degree  that  in  our  days  must  be  altogether  incredible.  In 
his  day  nothing  seems  to  have  been  called  literature  except  the  showy  publications 
that  were  addressed  to  the  idle  and  disengaged  portion  of  the  public,  rather  than  to 
the  business  mind  of  England.  •  •  In  the  Parliamentary  history,  in  the  state 
trials,  in  the  law  reports,  in  the  pamphlets  of  the  day,  at  almost  all  periods  of  our 
history  of  which  we  have  any  valuable  records,  are  found  masses  of  thought  to 
which,  in  their  real  interest  and  importance,  and  often  even  in  reference  to  the 
artistic  skill  with  which  arguments  of  great  power  are  elaborated,  the  works  of  our 
later  literature  bear  no  comparison  whatever  ;  and  of  all  those  Hume  was,  except 
when  by  bare  accident  he  looked  farther  than  the  popular  works  by  m  hich  he  was 
directed  to  his  authorities,  profoundly  ignorant." 


INFLUENCE    OF    GKEAT    MEN. 


Celebrity  is  no  certain  proof  of  greatness  of 
mind.  Several  particulars  deserve  to  be  noted  in 
determining  what  constitutes  it. 

1.  Although  energy  of  character  is  derived  from 
strength  of  passions,  yet  the  accomplishment  of 
anything  worthy  of  admiration  depends  upon  the 
control  of  those  passions.  In  a  man  of  known  ca- 
pacity, moderation  is  always  evidence  of  greatness ; 
it  shows  that  he  has  power  over  himself,  and, 
therefore,  that  he  is  able  to  observe  and  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  indiscretions  of  other  men — to  esti- 
mate deliberately  the  present,  as  compared  with  the 
past  or  future,  without  being  imposed  upon  by  the 
exaggerated  views  which  deceive  most  of  mankind. 
Talleyrand  was  described  in  his  early  life,  by  an 
acute  observer,  as  destined  to  distinction,  by  reason 
of  the  possession  of  these  qualities.*     Of  Hampden 


*  "  In  his  j  adgment  of  men  he  has  that  indulgence,  and  in  his  estimate  of  events 
that  sang  froid,  and  in  all  cases  that  moderation,  which  are  the  genuine  marks  of 
wisdom.  •  *  He  does  not  imagine  that  a  great  reputation  is  to  be  raised 
in  a  day  ;  but  he  will  assuredly  accomplish  that  object,  for  he  will  never  fail  to 
seize  those  opportunities  which  Fortune  so  frequently  offers  to  those  who  do  not 
violently  assail  her."  I  am  indebted  for  this  quotation  to  the  Dublin  Uhiversity 
Majazinc,  which  does  not,  however,  give  the  name  of  the  author. 


42  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

it  is  related  that  lie  kept  himself  in  reserve  in  the 
early  part  of  the  contest  between  the  Parliament 
and  king,  preparing  himself  for  the  crisis  which  he 
foresaw  was  impending.  "  His  carriage/'  says 
Clarendon,  ^'  throughout  this  agitation,  was  with 
that  rare  temper  and  modesty  that  they  who 
watched  him  most  narrowly,  to  find  some  advan- 
tage against  his  person,  to  make  him  less  resolute 
in  his  cause,  were  compelled  to  give  him  a  just  tes- 
timony." He  appears  to  have  left  to  other  leaders 
of  the  opposition  the  credit  and  responsibility, 
while  he  calmly  waited  for  the  time  which  should 
call  for  his  superior  ability. 

It  is  an  indication  of  a  great  mind  when  a  man, 
conscious  of  natural  power,  is  patient  of  the  delay 
which  may  be  interposed  to  his  advancement.  A 
premature  attempt  might  place  him  in  a  false  po- 
sition ;  at  all  events,  lie  will  not  be  likely  to  have 
the  influence  which  he  may  expect  if  he  wait  his 
time.  It  may,  indeed,  happen  that  the  opportu- 
nity may  not  be  offered  for  the  full  display  of  all 
his  capacity.  It  is  an  incident  of  human  life  that 
good  fortune  does  not  happen  to  all,  yet  in  the 
ordinary  course  every  man  will  sooner  or  later  find 
the  position  to  which  his  merit  entitles  him.  Or  if, 
perchance,  it  should  be  his  lot  to  go  down  to  death 
'^  without  his  fame,''  a  truly  great  man  will  still 
retain  satisfaction  in  the  consciousness  of  his  own 
worth,  for  there  is  more  dignity  in  making  small 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  43 

account  of  the  applause  of  the  world,  than  in  the 
possession  of  the  highest  popular  honors. 

2.  As  a  general  rule,  greatness  of  mind  is  gradual 
in  development — 

"  Crescit  occulto  velut  arbor  aevo 
Fama  Marcelli," 

is  a  felicitous  description  of  a  reputation  which  has 
grown  up  without  being  observed — or,  rather,  of  the 
development  of  capacity  in  unostentatious  progres- 
siveness,  till  on  some  favorable  occasion  it  is  ex- 
hibited to  an  admiring  world,  and  then  with  the 
greater  eclat,  in  proportion  as  it  had  been  before 
unnoticed.  It  is,  upon  the  whole,  better  that  a 
man  should  not  obtain  distinction  early,  for  when 
he  has  once  come  into  the  strife  of  life,  "  medium 
in  agmen,  in  pulverem,  in  castra,"  there  is  no  lon- 
ger opportunity  for  domestic  exercise,  and  for  the 
gathering  of  resources.  Thus,  those  who  have  by 
accidental  advantages  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
world  early  in  life,  though  they  may  by  experience 
acquire  great  readiness  and  tact,  will  lack  profound 
knowledge  and  comprehensive  views.  Long  prepa- 
ration is  in  general  essential  to  the  gaining  of  a 
lasting  reputation.  The  maturity  of  mind,  and  ex- 
tended observation  belonging  to  those  who  have 
risen  late  in  life,  will  insure  discretion  and  practi- 
cal wisdom,  which  are  important  elements  of  true 
greatness,  and  of  permanent  influence  in  the  world. 
The  younger  Pitt  had  extraordinary  natural  gifts, 


44  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

but  in  consequence  of  the  eclat  of  his  first  efforts  in 
Parliament,  having  been  suddenly  called  into  minis- 
terial office,  which  he  continued  to  hold  the  rest  of 
his  life,  there  was  observable  a  deficiency  of  the  re- 
sources which  a  longer  pursuit  of  general  literature 
would  have  bestowed. 

In  contrast  with  the  brilliant  early  life  of  Mr. 
Pitt  was  the  slow  advancement  of  Sir  Bohert  Peel. 
At  first  but  little  noticed,  indeed  for  a  considerable 
time  hardly  thought  of  as  likely  to  be  one  of  the 
great  men  of  his  time,  his  powers  expanded  in  the 
faithful  discharge  of  practical  duties,  till  at  an  ad- 
vanced period  he  was  acknowledged  as  entitled  to  a 
place  among  the  ablest  English  statesmen.'-' 

Marshal  Suchet  was  remarkable  for  a  growth  of 
capacity  in  his  later  years,  which,  as  Napoleon,  who 
was  a  great  observer  of  men,  said  of  him,  was  truly 
astonishing. 

Bacon  has  noticed  that  "  some  have  an  over-early 
ripeness  in  their  years,  which  fadeth  betimes."' 
Under  which  head  he  mentions  Hermogenes,  the 
rhetorician,  who  was  exceeding  subtle,  but  after- 
wards became  stupid  ;  the  orator  Hortensius,  of 
whom  it  was  said  by  his  rival,  "  idem  manebat  nee 
idem  decebat  ;"  and  Scipio  Africanus,  whose  early 
achievements  far  surpassed  all  that  he  afterwards 

*  In  one  of  the  sketches  that  appeared  at  the  time  of  his  death,  it  was  remarked 
that  his  outward  appearance  corresponded  in  outward  development  to  his  mind. 
The  sagacious  but  commonplace  countenance  of  his  earlier  manhood  was  marked, 
as  he  advanced  in  years,  by  a  peculiar  expression  of  refined  and  playful  acute- 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  45 

performed,  as  was  pithily  expressed  by  Livy, 
"  ultima  primis  cedebant."  But  this  last  instance 
rather  illustrates  that  great  genius  is  called  into 
action  by  great  occasions.  Had  another  adversary 
like  Hannibal  appeared,  it  might  have  been  found 
that  Scipio's  great  qualities  were  not  impaired.  It 
was  a  misapplication  by  Bacon,  when  he  speaks  of 
Scipio  as  one  of  those  who  take  too  high  a  strain  at 
first,  which  they  cannot  afterwards  uphold.  Beli- 
sarius  might  equally  have  been  supposed  to  have 
degenerated  from  himself,  if  his  old  age  had  not 
been  made  illustrious  by  his  recall  from  retire- 
ment, to  sustain  the  sinking  fortunes  of  his  country 
against  the  ferocious  Bulgarians. 

3.  Directness  of  thought  and  action  are  charac- 
teristics of  great  men.  The  last  has  been  most  ob- 
served, especially  in  military  men,  but  the  first  is 
equally  an  essential  trait,  indeed  both  are  con- 
nected, for  as  a  man's  thought  is,  so  is  his  action. 

Some  eminent  men  have,  however,  lacked  fluency 
or  perspicuity  of  expression,  which  has  given  rise  to 
the  idea  that  they  were  of  hesitating  mind,  although 
decided  in  action,  as  in  the  case  of  Cromwell  ;  but 
this  may  have  been  mere  want  of  facility  in  the  use 
of  language,  but  generally  we  find  energy  of  lan- 
guage where  there  is  energy  of  action.  The  old 
veteran,  Suwaroff,  could  say  very  well  what  he 
meant,  and  was  understood,  as  when  he  wrote  to 
the  Austrian  general,  Melas,  who  was  not  pleased 


46  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQriEIES. 

with  marching  in  wet  weather  :  "  Fine  days  were 
made/'  said  he,  "  for  women,  and  fine  gentlemen, 
and  lazy  persons." 

So  Blucher,  in  his  memorable  order  to  the  Prus- 
sians, announcing  that  he  would  lead  them  against 
the  French,  on  the  day  of  the  great  battle  of  Water- 
loo, "  We  shall  beat  them,  for  we  must/' 

In  respect  to  Cromwell,  it  has  recently  been 
proved,  especially  by  the  publication  of  his  letters, 
that  he  was  able  to  express  what  he  meant  in  very 
clear  and  forcible  terms. 

4.  It  might  be  expected  that  an  incident  of  great- 
ness of  mind  would  be  the  power  of  calling  forth 
latent  ability  in  other  men  ;  yet  this  is  by  no  means 
uniform,  and  if  it  were  made  a  test,  would  reverse 
or  materially  modify  the  popular  estimation  of  many 
celebrated  men. 

The  highest  order  of  genius  is  undoubtedly  that 
which  multiplies  its  own  force  by  the  development 
of  capacity  in  other  men.  This  requires,  in  the  first 
place,  profound  observation  of  the  character  and 
natural  power  of  men  ;  but,  in  addition  to  this,  a 
discriminating  judgment  as  to  the  manner  of  elicit- 
ing this  power.  Many  men  are  unconscious  them- 
selves of  what  they  are  fitted  for,  and  accidental 
position  sometimes  seems  to  create  talents,  though 
in  fact  it  only  calls  them  into  exercise. 

In  order  fully  to  show  what  a  man  is  capable  of, 
he  must  at  some  time  be  put  upon  his  own  discre- 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  47 

tion,  and  not  always  be  subject  to  precise  and  posi- 
tive instructions,  for  this  is  to  keep  the  mind  in 
vassalage  to  the  principal  in  liis  absence,  as  well  as 
when  be  is  present. 

Napoleon  bad  a  singular  power  of  making  great 
men,  or,  in  otber  words,  discovering  and  eliciting 
tbe  capacity  witb  wbicb  they  were  endowed  by  na- 
ture. His  generals  and  ministers  of  state  had  a 
greatness  of  their  own,  which  was  indeed  called 
forth  and  disciplined  by  his  peculiar  energy,  yet 
was  not  a  mere  reflection  of  the  ability  of  their 
chief ;  hence,  in  all  departments,  civil  and  military, 
he  was  served  with  a  marvellous  efficiency,  seeming 
to  be  like  an  infinite  multiplication  of  himself, 
which  astonished  the  world,  and  was  in  fact  a  har- 
mony of  action,  and  a  uniformity  of  success,  that 
might  well  seem  to  result  from  the  forecast  of  a 
single  mind  rather  than  the  divided  agency  of  many. 

Frederic  the  Great,  on  the  other  hand,  had  no 
creative  power  of  this  kind.  He  allowed  little  dis- 
cretion to  others,  and  hence  gave  little  opportunity 
for  the  development  of  their  natural  ability.  His 
government  was  unique  and  simple,  but  lacked  the 
splendor  as  well  as  the  intrinsic  strength  which  is 
derived  from  the  combined  action  of  many  gifted 
minds,  brought  into  vigorous  exercise  under  the 
general  direction  of  a  master-spirit. 

Alexander  the  Great,  though  he  died  in  early  life, 
left  many  great  men,  who  had  been  trained  under 


48  ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

him,  and  whose  achievements,  after  his  death,  re- 
flected the  greatness  of  their  master,  and  increased 
the  lustre  of  his  fame. 

Julius  Ccesar,  though  in  executive  ability  never 
surpassed,  had  no  faculty  of  creating,  or  calling  it 
out  in  others,  except  in  strict  subordination  to  him- 
self With  the  exception  of  Marc  Antony,  who, 
however,  derived  but  little  from  Csesar,  there  was 
not  one  distinguished  man  among  his  subordinates, 
either  civil  or  military. 

I  have  considered  what  constitutes  greatness.  '  I 
propose  now  to  estimate  the  influence  of  great  men 
upon  the  people  to  whom  they  belong. 

Military  genius  may  do  much,  for  in  war  the  com- 
mon soldiers  are  acted  upon  by  impulse,  and  the 
leader  may  inspire  those  under  him  with  something 
of  his  own  resolution.  Again,  masses  of  men,  when 
brought  together,  are  wielded  by  a  kind  of  mechani- 
cal agency — discipline  gives  confidence,  each  man 
relies  on  his  associates,  and  the  known  ability  of 
the  general  gives  assurance  to  the  whole  army. 

So  it  has  been  often  seen  that  a  great  general 
may  make  a  superior  soldiery  out  of  indifferent  ma- 
terials. The  Thebans  became,  under  Epaminondas, 
the  first  military  power  of  Greece,  though  they  had 
never  before  been  distinguished  for  prowess.  Han- 
nibal, out  of  heterogeneous  and  barbarous  troops, 
drawn  from  nations  all  of  whom  were  inferior  to  the 
Romans,  moulded  a  victorious  army,  that  the  Ro- 
mans themselves  could  not  withstand. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  49 

But  the  case  is  different  in  civil  affairs.  The 
most  profound  political  philosoj)hers  of  Greece, 
Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle,  lived  at  a  period 
when  their  counsel  was  most  needed  by  their  coun- 
try, and  we  should  suppose  would  have  had  great 
weight,  yet  practically  their  opinions  made  no  im- 
pression on  the  public  mind  ;  their  influence  seemed 
to  be  limited  to  the  disciples  who  attended  them, 
and  as  respects  even  these,  the  result  would  seem 
to  have  been  merely  theoretical,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  characters  of  Alcibiades  and  Critias,  two 
of  the  most  celebrated  pupils  of  Socrates. 

Aristotle,  who  analyzed  all  known  political  insti- 
tutions with  great  acuteness  of  research,  lived  to  see 
the  extinction  of  all  the  free  governments  of  Greece. 
Military  force  was,  indeed,  the  instrument,  but  if 
the  people  had  been  imbued  with  sound  principles, 
and  a  proper  sense  of  what  constitutes  a  good  gov- 
ernment, and  the  value  of  freedom,  no  power  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  subvert  the  Grecian  com- 
monwealth. 

A  man  of  great  prestige,  of  commanding  presence 
or  popular  gifts,  may  have  influence  with  the  com- 
monalty, but  his  sway  is  rather  by  impulse,  and 
leaves  no  lasting  impression,  if  there  is  not  a  sound 
basis  in  the  character  of  the  people. 

Individual  character  is  moulded  by  domestic 
training  and  associations  of  early  life.  Without 
such  training  evil  propensities  will  gain  the  upper 


50  ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIE8. 

hand,  and  a  disposition  naturally  good  be  perverted 
to  the  worst  purposes.  Then  it  is  to  be  also  noticed 
that  character  is  hereditary,  and  that  vicious  habits 
will  descend  to  the  offspring  of  vicious  parents,  if 
not  controlled  by  powerful  influences.  Education 
may  do  much,  but  the  most  important  part  of  edu- 
cation is  example.  In  a  depraved  community  it  is 
exceedingly  difficult  to  instil  virtuous  principles 
into  the  youthful  mind.  The  nature  of  man  is 
prone  to  vice  rather  than  virtue. 

So  with  national  character  ;  the  people  is  made 
up  of  individuals  ;  and  where  there  is  no  individual 
discipline,  no  domestic  school  of  virtue,  there  will 
be  an  aggregation  in  the  mass  of  all  the  corruptions 
of  the  individuals  composing  it.  Socrates  ironically 
said,  that  to  have  respect  for  the  opinion  of  the 
multitude  loas  like  rejecting  a  coin  as  spurious,  and 
tahing  a  large  quantity  of  the  identical  coin  as 
good  money. 

We  see  at  this  day  in  the  French  the  want  of 
domestic  training.  There  have  been  many  learned 
and  able  men  in  France,  but  they  have  had  little 
moral  influence  over  the  popular  mind.  There  is 
in  that  country  a  lack  of  individuality  ;  few  think 
for  themselves,  and  the  impulse  by  which  men  are 
moved,  who  have  only  a  social  not  an  individual 
character,  is  something  that  stirs  only  the  most 
mobile  feelings — ^it  is  the  sensitive  and  superficial, 
not  the  interior  and  reflecting  part  of  their  nature 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  51 

that  is  acted  upon — ivit  has,  therefore,  more  motive 
power  than  profound  thought. 

The  Athenians,  after  they  had  become  profligate 
in  private  life,  could  be  roused  to  sudden  efforts  by 
their  orators,  and  even  become  good  soldiers  under 
a  distinguished  military  leader,  but  could  not  be 
reformed  in  their  private  habits  by  the  instruction 
of  Plato,  or  the  example  of  Phocion.  The  com- 
monwealth suffered  from  individual  vice,  public 
business  was  conducted  with  levity,  and  the  attend- 
ance of  the  people  in  the  legislative  assemblies  or 
the  dikasteries,  was  rather  for  entertainment  than 
the  discharge  of  a  grave  duty. 

Even  with  all  the  aids  of  education,  it  is  needful 
that  there  should  be  respect  for  the  eminent  men  of 
former  times  ;  and  there  should  be  something  in  the 
recollections  of  the  past  deserving  of  admiration, 
which  fathers  may  with  pride  rehearse  to  their  chil- 
dren. 

The  love  of  country  needs  to  be  sustained  by  the 
memory  of  greatness  and  virtue.  The  blessing  of 
freedom  must  be  hallowed  by  the  recollection  of  the 
perils  incurred,  and  the  achievements  performed,  in 
establishing  and  maintaining  it. 

3 


LAWYEES. 


• 


It  is  a  question,  what  is  the  moral  influence  of 
the  indiscriminate  defence  of  right  and  wrong  by 
hired  pleaders  ?  It  is  a  natural  consequence,  if  a 
man  hires  out  his  services  for  the  defence  of  others, 
that  his  zeal  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  reward  ; 
and  if  he  may,  for  such  a  motive,  put  forth  greater 
casuistry  or  pathos,  it  will  be  easy  to  justify  to  him- 
self any  contrivance  for  success.  We  have  instances, 
in  desperate  cases,  of  deliberate  devices  of  the  most 
unscrupulous  character,  for  the  escape  of  the  crimi- 
nal. The  lawyer,  in  such  a  case,  is  held  to  but 
slight  account,  though  all  others  concerned  would  be 
considered  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

I  know  there  are  some  who  profess  to  discrimi- 
nate, and  to  avoid  unworthy  clients,  but  I  have 
known  no  instance  of  a  large  fee  being  refused  on 
account  of  the  character  of  the  party.  The  effect 
on  the  public  mind  is  bad,  because  it  is  a  practical 
example  of  the  perversion  of  truth,  by  men  well 
educated,  and  having  considerable  influence  in  so- 
ciety, but  more  especially  of  the  actual  obstruction 
of  justice  by  venal  skill. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQriEIES.  53 

Cicero  prescribes,  as  a  moral  rule,  that  the  de- 
fence of  all  criminals  may  be  undertaken,  with  the 
exception  of  those  who  had  committed  crimes 
against  religion,  or  some  great  atrocity  ;  and  that 
in  the  trial  it  is  the  office  of  the  judge  to  seek  for 
truth  only,  but  that  the  advocate  may  be  permitted 
to  maintain  a  probability  of  truth  even  in  the  sup- 
port of  what  is  false.* 

The  orators  of  Athens  and  Kome  were  not 
strictly  lawyers,  while  a  popular  government  sub- 
sisted. There  was,  indeed,  no  occasion  for  any 
great  amount  of  technical  knowledge,  as  the  courts 
made  little  account  of  precedents.  Judicial  magis- 
trates were,  to  a  certain  extent,  subject  to  uniform- 
ity in  the  rules  of  decision,  but  the  Athenian  dihas- 
teries,  which  were  composed  of  the  people,  had  ab- 
solute power  in  each  case,  with  no  restraint  in  the 
nature  of  an  appeal.  The  Roman  Praetor  was  re- 
quired to  publish,  on  going  into  office,  a  declaration 
of  the  rules  by  which  he  would  decide  cases,  and  as 
he  held  office  but  for  a  year,  this  was  annually  re- 
newed ;  but  he  seems  to  have  been  at  liberty  to  ex- 
ercise a  large  discretion  in  the  adoption  of  rules, 
though  practically,  as  we  may  infer  that  the  same  set 
was  continued,  with  only  occasional  modifications  and 
additions.     This  was  the  origin  of  the  Prsetorian 


*  Judicia  est  semper  in  causis  verum  sequi — patroni  nonnum  quam  veri  simile 
etiam  si  minus  sit  verum  defendere De  Oflf.,  lib.  2,  c.  14. 


54  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOaiCAL    INQUIRIES. 

Edict,  which  was  finally  made  perpetual  in  the  reign 
of  Hadrian.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  causes 
could  be  tried  at  Eome  with  very  little  legal  learn- 
ing. In  fact,  a  lawyer  was  not  one  who  was  versed 
in  judicial  decisions,  as  these  were  not  binding  on 
the  courts,  but  one  who  was  acquainted  with  the 
forms  of  actions  and  the  technical  language  of  laws, 
with  the  addition,  in  individual  instances,  of  a 
knowledge  of  all  the  laws  which  had  been  enacted 
by  the  Senate  or  people,  which,  in  English  phrase- 
ology, would  be  called  statute  law. 

When  the  orator  had  occasion  for  any  professional 
information  of  this  kind,  he  applied  to  a  lawyer  as 
he  did  to  an  architect,  a  physician,  or  geometer,  for 
whatever  knowledge  was  needed  in  the  respective 
trades  or  sciences  with  which  these  were  conversant. 

Pompey,  Ccesar,  Crassus,  Lucullus,  and  other 
generals,  prosecuted  and  defended  criminal  and 
civil  causes — which  proves  that  no  considerable 
amount  of  professional  knowledge  was  required,  as 
the  men  I  have  referred  to  were  bred  wholly  in  mili- 
tary and  political  affairs.  Under  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment the  characters  of  orator  and  lawyer  were 
combined.  Public  speaking  was  then  limited  to  the 
courts,  and  law,  as  a  profession,  had  made  a  great 
advance  in  respectability.  Seneca,  Tacitus,  and 
Pliny,  were  lawyers.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the 
science  of  jurisprudence  flourished  in  the  highest 
degree  under  some  of  the   worst   emperors.     The 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  65 

classic  age  of  Roman  law  was  between  tlie  reigns  of 
Hadrian  and  Alexander  Severus,  a  period  that  pro- 
duced such  monsters  as  Commodus  and  Caracalla, 
but  which  is  made  illustrious  by  the  most  celebra- 
ted of  the  Roman  lawyers,  Gains,  Ul;pian,  Papin- 
iariy  Modestinus,  and  others. 

The  lawyers  of  England  have  had  an  important 
part  in  the  civil  history  of  that  country.  In  gene- 
ral they  have  supported  royal  prerogative,  but  there 
have  been  some  notable  exceptions.  Coke  was 
prominent,  as  a  member  of  Parliament,  in  resisting 
the  arbitrary  pretensions  of  King  James,  and  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  subsequent  popular  reaction 
against  the  measures  of  Charles  First ;  but  the  mo- 
tive by  which  he  was  at  first  actuated  was  probably 
resentment  at  the  preference  given  to  his  rival, 
Bacon. 

Somers  took  an  active  part  in  the  revolution  of 
1688,  but,  after  the  settlement  of  the  succession, 
the  lawyers  and  judges  have  generally  been  sup- 
porters of  the  extremest  pretensions  of  royalty. 
The  reason  for  this  is  obvious,  viz.,  that  the  ap- 
pointments to  office  depended  upon  royal  favor.  A 
few  exceptions  occur  of  lawyers  who  have  been  so 
confident  in  their  own  abilities  as  to  risk  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  crown,  and  who  forced  a  reluctant 
concession  of  preferment  from  the  king.  Among 
these  the  most  conspicuous  are  Dunning,  Erskine 
and  Brougham. 


56  ETHICAL   AND    niYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

American  lawyers  are  a  class  of  men  differing 
much  from  the  profession  in  any  other  country. 
The  source  of  preferment  in  the  United  States  is 
popular  favor.  Lawyers  are  almost  universally  poli- 
ticians. Most  public  offices,  administrative  as  well 
as  judicial,  are  obtained  by  lawyers.  There  is  cer- 
tainly no  want  of  ability.  It  is  no  more  than  just 
to  say  that  the  American  lawyers  have  legal  learn- 
ing that  will  bear  a  favorable  comparison  with  that 
of  the  bar  in  England,  and  that  they  have  a  readi- 
ness in  the  dispatch  of  business,  and  a  versatility  in 
combining  other  pursuits  with  the  professional, 
which  has  never  been  equalled  in  any  other  country. 
To  this  praise  there  are,  however,  some  serious 
drawbacks.  Being  generally  politicians,  and  aspi- 
rants for  office,  or  at  least  for  political  influence, 
the  consequence  is,  they  are  unscrupulous  in  avail- 
ing themselves  of  all  the  means  of  accomplishing 
their  ambitious  purposes,  and  too  apt  to  descend  to 
low  intrigue  and  management. 


HEEEDITARY    CHARACTEE. 


The  care  with  which  the  English  trace  their  de- 
scent, is  attributable  to  aristocratic  pride.  The 
Jewish  custom  was  derived  from  peculiar  religious 
policy,  and,  like  circumcision,  can  be  explained  only 
by  the  tenacity  with  which  they  held  to  a  principle 
of  distinction,  which  applied  not  only  to  the  nation 
but  to  tribes  and  famihes. 

I  have  derived  some  ideas  on  the  subject  of  heredi- 
tary character  from  facts  recently  developed,  show- 
ing an  analogy  in  the  law  of  human  organism  to 
that  of  the  lower  order  of  animal  constitution  much 
greater  than  what  has  been  heretofore  supposed. 

Whether  it  be  that  the  soul  acts  only  through 
the  organs  of  sense  (as  Locke  supposed  when  he 
denied  that  there  was  thought  in  sleep),  and  from 
which  would  be  perhaps  deducible  that  the  soul 
itself  is  but  a  subtle  or  ethereal  form  of  matter,  one 
thing  is  certain,  that  a  man's  character  (by  which 
I  mean  to  express  a  certain  individuality  in  thought 
and  action)  is  intimately  connected  with  his  physi- 
cal organization.  If  this  hypothesis  be  well  founded, 
hereditary  character  is  demonstrable,  for  nothing  is 


58  ETHICAL   AND   PnYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

clearer  than  a  resemblance  of  physical  structure, 
both  external  and  interior,  in  parents  and  children. 

Education  and  circumstances  in  life  may  restrain 
our  natural  propensities,  or  give  direction,  in  one 
course  of  action  or  another,  and  thus  apparently 
determine  character,  but  these,  after  all,  have  little 
power  against  an  organic  bent  or  inclination  of 
mind  when  there  is  great  physical  energy,  by  which 
I  mean  not  bodily  strength  but  strong  impulse, 
whether  that  be  derived  from  inherent  proclivity  of 
mind  or  sensual  organization.  In  such  case  re- 
straint is  overborne,  or,  if  submitted  to  for  a  time, 
it  is  only  as  to  a  coercive  power — and  the  natural 
temper,  when  it  has  opportunity,  is  apt  to  break 
out  with  redoubled  force.  Nor  is  it  merely  sensual 
passion  that  thus  acts  ;  all  the  faculties  and  powers 
of  the  mind  seem  to  have  a  like,  though  perhaps 
not  equal  persistence  of  action,  and  I  am  much  in- 
clined to  believe  that  they  are  in  a  similar  manner 
dependent,  at  least  for  their  activity,  on  some  phy- 
sical principle. 

The  transmission  of  bodily  diseases  from  parents 
to  children  has  been  long  observed — as  consumption, 
scrofula,  gout,  insanity.  It  is  properly  the  trans- 
mission, not  of  disease,  but  of  a  corporeal  structure, 
which  is  liable  to  such  diseases. 

The  external  resemblance  of  children  to  their 
parents  is  a  general  law ;  sometimes  the  resem- 
blance is  to  ancestors  more  remote  ;   so  it  is  in  re- 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  59 

spect  to  character.     Peculiar  family  traits  may  be 
traced  through  many  generations. 

The  Claudian  family  of  Kome  is  a  conspicuous 
instance,  which  for  many  centuries  was  the  most 
haughty  and  aristocratic  of  the  Patricians,  and 
finally  became  the  tyrants  of  Rome.  From  Appius 
Claudius,  the  Decemvir,  to  the  monster  Caligula, 
the  same  imperious  temper  seemed  to  pervade  the 
race,  or  at  all  events,  to  be  often  reproduced  in  in- 
dividual members  of  the  family. *-•'  The  Catos  were, 
during  several  generations,  equally  remarkable  for 
severity  of  rectitude,  from  Cato  the  Censor  to  his 
great-grandson  of  the  same  name,  who  killed  him- 
self at  Utica,  and  Marcus  Brutus,  the  nephew  of 
the  latter. 

The  Guises  of  France  were,  during  at  least  three 
generations,  alike  in  their  imposing  stature,  seduc- 
tive manners,  and  factious  disposition.  The  same 
traits  descended  through  Mary  of  Guise  to  the  cele- 
brated Mary  Stuart  and  her  posterity. 

The  Stuart  family  of  Scotland  are  known,  histori- 
cally, as  having  displayed  a  singular  obstinacy  or 
inaptness  to  yield  to  changing  circumstances,  and 
thereby  suffering  great  misfortunes.  Queen  Mary 
lost  her  throne  and  life — ^her  grandson,  Charles 
First,  of  England,  came  to  the  same  end — ^his  son, 
James  Second,  was  dethroned,  and  the  family,  after 
its  exile,  still  continued  intractable  as  before. 

•  Quoted  from  Gregory's  Conspectus  Medicinae  Theoreticse,  in  ''  Combe's  Const. 
ofMan,"p.  146. 

3=^ 


60  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

The  transmission  of  a  morbid  temper  of  mind  is 
illustrated  in  the  poet  Byron.  The  family,  from 
the  time  it  became  historically  known  by  the  grant 
of  Newstead  Abbey  to  Sir  John  Byron,  by  Henry 
Eighth,  had  the  characteristics  of  recklessness  and 
extravagance.  Charles  I.  granted  a  title  of  nobility 
and  additional  land,  the  family  having  before  that 
time  been  much  involved  in  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment. The  grandfather  of  the  poet.  Admiral  Byron, 
was  brave  but  unfortunate — ^his  great-uncle  and  pre- 
decessor in  the  title  and  ownership  of  the  estate, 
killed  his  neighbor  and  relative,  Mr.  Chaworth, 
in  a  duel,  and,  as  was  alleged,  by  unfair  means  ; 
ill-treated  his  wife,  so  that  she  was  obliged  to  sepa- 
rate from  him — wasted  his  estate,  and  lived  solitary 
and  friendless — always  went  armed,  and  supplied  the 
place  of  his  wife  by  a  female  domestic,  who  had  the 
soubriquet  in  the  neighborhood  of  "  Lady  Betty." 
Captain  Byron,  the  father  of  the  poet,  ran  away 
with  the  wife  of  the  Marquis  of  Caermarthen,  before 
he  was  of  age  ;  after  her  death  he  married  Catha- 
rine Gordon,  the  mother  of  Lord  Byron — squandered 
her  property,  and  by  bad  treatment  forced  her  to 
live  separate  from  him. 

These  ancestral  traits  descended  to  the  poet,  in- 
termingled with  the  passionate  temper  of  his  mother. 
How  he  could  have  become  possessed  of  any  good 
quality  seems  strange,  as  his  mother  seemed  to  be 
endowed  with  little  or  none,  and  his  father  was  a 


ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  61 

sensual,  selfish,  and  unprincipled  man.  But  the 
transmission  of  character  by  hereditary  descent 
sometimes  overleaps  one  or  more  generations.  He 
had  the  solitariness,  gloom,  and  domestic  irregu- 
larity of  his  great-uncle,  and  he  may  have  derived 
his  better  qualities  from  a  source  more  remote. 

Voltaire  mentions  a  case,  within  his  own  knowl- 
edsre,  of  a  father  and  two  sons  each  committino; 
suicide  at  the  same  age,  and  without  any  known 
cause."''' 

Dr.  Burrows  relates  a  family  trait  of  the  same 
kind  exhibited  in  three  generations — the  grandfather 
hung  himself,  three  of  his  sons  destroyed  themselves, 
two  of  the  grandchildren  followed  the  example,  and 
the  fourth  generation  showed  symptoms  of  the  same 
propensity.f 

The  mother  seems  to  have  most  influence  on  the 
character  of  the  children.  If  she  is  weak  in  mind, 
Hhe  offspring  will  exhibit  a  deficiency  of  intellect, 
even  if  the  father  have  more  than  ordinary  vigor. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  mother  have  great  energy 
and  any  peculiar  traits,  they  will  be  reproduced  in 
some  degree  in  the  children,  even  if  the  father  be  of 
ordinary  or  inferior  character. 

It  is  almost  proverbial  that  a  distinguished  man 
is  always  found  to  have  had  a  mother  more  than  or- 
dinarily endowed  with  vigor  of  mind.     The  care  of 

•  Phi.  Die,  article  "Cato."  t  *'  Burrows  on  Insanity." 


62  ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

a  child  in  its  early  years  is  indeed  of  mucli  conse- 
quence ;  but  if  the  mother  have  good  qualities  she 
will  impart  them  to  her  offspring  at  their  birth  ; 
these  will  be  fostered  by  maternal  discipline,  but 
will  be  seen  to  some  extent,  even  under  the  most 
adverse  circumstances,  as  the  premature  death  or 
physical  disability  of  the  mother. 

The  Gracchi,  the  Emperor  Constantine,  Charle- 
magne and  Napoleon,  are  familiar  instances  of  great- 
ness which  seemed  to  be  derived  chiefly  from  the 
mother.  The  innkeeper's  daughter,  Helena,  mother 
of  Constantine,  was  indeed  of  humble  origin,  but 
the  veneration  which  the  emperor  always  exhibited 
toward  her,  even  in  her  old  age,  is  a  sufficient  proof 
of  her  remarkable  qualities. 

Edward  Third,  of  England,  derived  from  his  mo- 
ther, Isabella,  his  gallant  and  enterprising  character, 
although  she  was  not  a  pattern  of  domestic  virtue, 
but  he  inherited  also  her  amative  propensities. 

The  warlike  sons  of  the  Duke  of  York  (Edward 
Fourth  and  Kichard  Third)  must  have  owed  their 
energy  to  their  mother,  who  was  an  extraordinary 
woman.* 

On  the  other  hand,  the  degeneracy  of  the  children 
of  distinguished  men,  which  is  also  proverbial,  may 
be  derived  from  the  weakness  or  vice  of  the  mother. 


•  I  recollect  a  very  interesting  narrative  of  her  life,  in  a  fiction  called  "  Cecilia, 
or  the  Rose  of  Raby  " — from  what  source  the  materials  were  derived  I  do  not  know. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    LNQUIEIES.  63 

The  wife  of  Socrates  brought  him  a  stupid  family — 
the  wife  of  Marcus  AureHus  produced  a  circus  rider, 
instead  of  a  philosopher,  but  it  has  been  a  ques- 
tion whether  the  Empress  Faustina  did  not  find  a 
parentage  for  Commodus  in  one  of  the  performers 
at  the  amphitheatre. 

I  know  myself  the  family  of  a  former  eminent 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  U.  S.,  who,  to  the 
second  generation,  have  been  all  weak  in  intellect,  and 
it  needed  only  acquaintance  with  the  mother  (who 
was  of  an  aristocratic  lineage)  to  account  for  it. 

There  was  some  sense,  according  to  this  principle, 
in  the  proposition  of  Hortensius  (as  related  by  Plu- 
tarch), of  getting  the  loan  of  the  wife  of  Cato,  or 
his  daughter  (who  was  also  married).  By  such 
intercourse  with  women  of  virtuous  families,  he  said, 
there  would  be  insured  a  virtuous  offspring. 

As  to  physical  advantages  to  be  considered  in  re- 
ference to  marriage.  Sir  Walter  Ealeigh  advises 
well : 

"  Have  a  care  thou  dost  not  marry  an  unseemly 
person,  for  comeliness  in  children  is  riches,  if  nothing 
else  be  left  them  ;  and  if  thou  have  a  care  of  the 
races  of  horses  and  other  beasts,  value  the  shape  and 
comeliness  of  thy  children  before  alliances  or 
riches." 


SENSUALITY 


There  is  some  plausibility  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Shakers,  that  the  sin  which  occasioned  the  fall  was 
sexual — certainly  there  is  no  propensity  more  uni- 
versal or  engrossing. 

The  lower  class  seeks  sensual  gratification  for  it- 
self ;  the  more  educated  and  well-bred  observe  some 
forms  of  delicacy,  and  usually  veil  the  natural  de- 
sire under  a  certain  "  illecebrae" — the  playfulness 
of  love — the  familiarities  of  friendship. 

But  whether  a  hirsute  appetite  or  refined  sensual- 
ism be  the  phase,  there  is  in  unchecked  indulgence 
a  destructiveness  to  bodily  and  mental  vigor.  The 
former  is  exhausting  to  corporeal  elasticity — tends  to 
intemperance,  and  induces  a  coarse,  selfish  tone  of 
mind,  that  is  insensible  to  a  refined  voluptuousness. 
The  other  engrosses  the  imagination  and  titillates 
the  senses  by  pruriency  of  thought.  A  late  bishop 
of  the  southern  diocese  of  N.  Y.  may  serve  as  an 
example  of  a  whole  class  ;  such  men  find  a  sufficient 
exercise  of  meretricious  thought  in  immodest  famili- 
arities ;  but  there  is  in  such  a  habit  a  depraving  in- 
fluence, fatal  to  a  healthful  condition  of  mind. 


ETHICAL   AJ<iD   PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIBIES.  65 

Others  there  are  who  indulge  in  a  morbid  sen- 
sualism of  thought,  without  actual  licentiousness 
in  conduct,  of  which  class  of  men  the  historian  Gib- 
bon is  a  prominent  instance  ;  even  in  a  man  of  erotic 
temper,  rigid  restraint  may  be  attended  with  de- 
rangement of  the  whole  organism.  Many  pious 
men,  in  struggling  against  passion  which  they  deem- 
ed sinful,  have  been  involved  in  insanity.  Luther's 
opinion  as  to  celibacy  is  well  known  ;  it  must,  how- 
ever, be  considered  extravagant.  There  are  men 
who,  without  lubricity  of  mind,  have  lived  chastely 
in  a  single  life.  In  such  instances  there  is  a  well- 
balanced  mind  and  a  happy  physical  organization  ; 
by  which  I  mean  one  of  delicate  structure — one  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  bear  the  ordinary  roughnesses  of 
life,  but  without  the  coarseness  and  solidity  neces- 
sary for  the  endurance  of  great  hardships.  A  ge- 
nial, philanthropic,  sympathetic  temper,  combined 
with  intellectual  and  moral  endowments,  is  seen  in 
such  a  one  as  I  have  described. 

If  indifference  arise  from  physical  defect,  or  if 
there  be  an  aversion  growing  out  of  ill-reception, 
by  reason  of  deformity,  or  other  like  cause,  there  is 
usually  exhibited  a  malevolent  spirit.  The  eunuch 
is  an  ill-natured  being.  The  biting  sarcasm  of 
Swift  may,  perhaps,  be  attributed  to  "  a  tentiginous 
humor  repelled  to  the  brain,"  as  he  expresses  it. 

Sensual  passion  may  be  controlled  by  other  en- 
grossing objects  ;  but  generally  great  mental  appli- 


06  ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

/i  cation  must  have  an  equivalent,  or  physical  enjoy- 
ment of  some  sort.  The  more  abstracted  the  mind 
is,  the  more  intensely  it  is  fixed  upon  the  object  of 
its  thought,  the  greater  will  be  the  compensation 

required  in  some  grosser  element.  - — 

'-—Great  thinkers,  it  has  been  said,  are  great  sensu- 
alists ;  but  this  must  be  taken  in  a  qualiffed  sense. 
There  may  be  a  dreamy  sort  of  abstraction  which 
involves  no  effort ;  it  is  rather  the  absence  of 
thought — the  indulgence  of  passive  sensation  and 
semi-sensual  ideas  flowing  without  restraint  or  me- 
thod. But  if  the  mind  be  disciplined  to  graver  and 
more  toilsome  employment — if  it  be  fixed  upon  some 
specific  subject,  and  tasked  by  consecutive  and  me- 
thodical reflection,  there  is  an  exhaustion  of  the 
material  organism,  or  some  part  of  it,  perhaps  of  the 
finer  part  of  the  nervous  system,  which  by  conse- 
quence requires  rest.  But  rest  is  obtained  by  alter- 
nation, that  is,  by  the  exercise  of  other  bodily  func- 
tions. 

Bleep  is  the  nearest  to  absolute  rest,  but  even  that 
is  not  perfect ;  the  vascular  action  is  in  that  state 
increased,  and  the  organs  of  absorption,  secretion, 
and  assimilation,  are  more  vigorous  in  their  action 
than  when  we  are  awake.  Yet  sleep  is  a  rest  of  all 
the  faculties  of  body  and  mind  which  are  subject  to 
voluntary  efibrt.  The  partial  rest  which  results 
from  an  alternation  of  employment  is  most  effective 
according  to  the  change  or  contrariety  ;  therefore,  the 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  G7 

tension  of  the  nervous  system  by  thought  demands 
muscular  exercise  and  sensual  pleasures.  Hence, 
excessive  exertion  of  mind  ought  to  be  avoided.  Ke- 
ligious  contemplation,  if  not  fanatical,  has  a  ten- 
dency to  promote  serenity,  and  therefore  demands 
no  such  compensation  ;  and  this  is  the  great  excel- 
lence of  a  consistent  religious  life.  But  inordinate 
zeal  and  fervor,  that  cannot  be  kept  up  as  a  general 
habit,  must,  by  the  law  of  our  nature,  be  followed 
by  a  reaction  to  the  other  extreme.  Hence  the  con- 
trarieties in  the  lives  of  many  Christians,  which  they 
mourn  over  as  the  necessary  consequences  of  sin,  but 
which  are  in  fact  in  a  great  degree  attributable  to 
their  own  indiscretions. 

A  biographer  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davey  refers  to 
the  sensual  habits  of  his  subject,  but  which  were 
limited  to  the  comparatively  innocent  practices  of 
epicurism  in  eating  and  a  fondness  for  fishing.  A 
critic  (in  the  North  British  Beview)  makes  some 
sensible  remarks,  which  I  transcribe  :  "  Almost 
every  great  man  is  a  voluptuary  by  nature.  Even 
Newton  smoked  himself  into  a  state  of  etiolation. 
Your  true  consumers  of  tobacco,  your  genuine  gour- 
mands, your  consummate  lovers  of  wine,  your  most 
absolute  of  gallants,  and  your  only  sufferable  opium- 
eaters,  are  such  men  of  genius  as  do  mostly  toil  like 
heroes  when  they  are  at  work.  Doubtless  men  of 
genius  are  endowed  with  the  most  sensitive  and 
quivering  of  corporeal  frames,  and  if  their  charac- 


68  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

ters  be  at  the  same  time  strong  and  vigorous,  that 
swiftly  responsive  constitution  to  the  play  of  every 
sensuous  delight  is  invariably  accompanied  by  the 
fiercest  manifestation  of  turbulent  human  passion. 
-;;j  >;c-  tj^q  mind  which  is  overstrained  instinctively 
seeks  and  finds  its  natural  repose  in  the  pleasures 
of  sensation,  and  the  wearied  sense  aspires  to  hide 
itself  in  the  kindlier  bosom  of  emotion,  whence  the 
intellect  springs  anew  in  renovated  strength." 

Lord  S  to  well  (an  eminent  English  judge,  brother 
of  Lord  Eldon)  was  a  great  eater,  and  would  drink 
two  bottles  of  port  at  one  time,  and  seemed  not  to 
be  injured  in  health  by  such  habits.  He  was  curious 
upon  all  subjects,  and  the  most  indefatigable  sight- 
seer in  London.  Whatever  show  could  be  seen 
for  a  shilling  or  less  was  visited  by  him,  and  he  was 
often  seen,  after  his  elevation  to  the  bench,  coming 
out  of  the  penny  show-rooms  in  the  streets  of  Lon- 
don. 


> 


HEALTH. 


There  is  an  art  of  life,  and  he  who  understands 
the  inner  principle  upon  which  his  condition  depends, 
and  not  merely  the  external  development,  will  find 
a  beauty  in  human  life  which  is  worthy  of  its  great 
author,  and  the  material  out  of  which  happiness 
may  be  wrought  for  himself. 

Health  is  the  first,  and  an  indispensable  consti- 
tuent ;  not  the  health  of  the  day-laborer,  who  can 
work  twelve  hours  without  exhaustion,  for  that  is 
strength  of  sinews  only,  which  the  ox  has,  and  per- 
haps with  as  great  a  sense  of  enjoyment,  or  if  there 
be  a  difierence,  it  is  that  the  human  animal  is  prone 
to  indulge  in  harmful  gratifications,  as  in  strong 
drink  and  other  sensualities.  Nor  is  it  the  health  of 
one  whose  stomach  can  bear  tasking  much  beyond  its 
proper  office,  and  counts  a  dinner  a  chief  enjoyment 
of  life,  first,  in  the  anticipation  of  the  pleasure  and 
then  in  the  slow  and  protracted  fruition,  for  this  is 
the  existence  of  an  oyster,  or  of  a  boa  constrictor  ; 
"  total  extinction  of  the  enlightened  soul." 

The  health  that  I  refer  to  is  a  condition  of  mind 
and  body  at  all  times  or  habitually  susceptible  of 


70  ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

agreeable  impressions,  and  therefore  requiring  sen- 
sibility or  delicacy  of  external  organism,  and  of  the 
interior  nervous  structure — cultivation  or  discipline 
of  the  organs  of  sense  and  of  the  faculties  of  mind, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  extremes  of  mere  physical  sensa- 
tion, or  of  over-refined  emotional  susceptibility — 
and  so  as  to  be  furnished  with  pleasing  impressions 
from  all  external  objects,  and  an  equally  pleasing 
consciousness  from  the  exercise  of  thought.  Har- 
mony of  all  the  faculties  of  mind  and  body,  when 
those  faculties  are  educated,  is  the  true  state  of  hap- 
piness. Disease  impairs  enjoyment,  at  least  of  the 
placid  or  habitual  kind  which  is  most  consistent 
with  long  life,  but  may,  by  rousing  into  more  than 
usual  activity  certain  powers  of  mind  or  body,  whe- 
ther by  great  facility  in  their  exercise,  or  by  coun- 
teraction to  the  disturbing  force,  give  to  them  more 
acute  sensibility,  and  by  consequence,  more  exqui- 
site but  less  continuous  pleasure. 

Another  requisite  is,  that  this  sensibility  of  nerves 
should  be  natural,  not  morbid.  A  bodily  constitu- 
tion that  is  "  servile  to  every  skyey  influence,"  and 
suffers  a  shock  from  even  ordinary  incidents  of  life, 
is  predetermined  to  the  extremest  human  misery, 
often  ending  in  the  unuttered  woes  of  madness. 

I  have  observed,  in  many  instances,  an  alterna- 
tion in  the  course  of  disease  between  the  mind  and 
body  ;  sometimes  a  deranged  function  of  the  one  is 
relieved  by  transfer  to  the  other.     Perhaps,  when 


ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  71 

the  mind  becomes  thus  affected  by  alternation,  the 
nervous  system  is  the  seat  of  the  transferred  disease. 
This  is  the  part  of  the  material  organism  which  is 
nearest  in  contact  with  the  mind.  There  may,  in- 
deed, intervene  some  subtler  material,  not  discerni- 
ble by  our  senses,  as  is  recently  held  in  respect  to 
light,  that  there  is  a  more  rarefied  medium  than  the 
air  whose  undulations  produce  the  effect  which  we 
call  vision.  One  phenomenon  has  been  noticed  in 
respect  to  this  alternation  of  disease  between  mind 
and  body,  that  sometimes  when  the  latter  has  been 
relieved  of  a  chronic  ailment,  a  change  of  character 
has  taken  place  ;  evil  passions  and  propensities  have 
been  developed  where  before  there  had  been  a  mild 
and  amiable  temper  of  mind.  Hahneman  says  that 
the  new  development  is  in  fact  the  revival  of  quali- 
ties previously  existing,  but  which  had  been  kept 
down  by  bodily  disease.'''  It  is,  however,  a  more 
natural  hypothesis  to  consider  the  mind  as  now  the 
seat  of  the  disease  which  had  before  affected  the 
body. 

Plutarch  relates  an  anecdote  of  a  soldier  of  Anti- 
gonus,  remarkable  for  bravery,  but  who  had  an  un- 
healthy appearance.  On  account  of  his  courage, 
Antigonus  put  him  in  charge  of  his  own  physician, 
who  succeeded  in  curing  the  disease  ;  but  the  char- 
acter of  the  soldier  became  entirely  changed,  and  he 

*  Organon,  p.  173. 


Y2  ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUTRIES. 

no  longer  exhibited  his  former  bravery.  This  being 
observed,  and  the  reason  asked,  he  said  that  he  was 
made  less  bold  by  being  relieved  from  misery,  by 
which  his  life  was  made  hateful  to  him.''"'  The  story 
may  be  fabulous,  but  something  analagous  has 
doubtless  fallen  under  the  observation  of  every  one. 
The  bold  and  adventurous  are  generally  those  who 
have  suffering  of  mind  or  body.  Our  thoughts  re- 
vert to  Wolfe,  wasted  and  almost  dying  with  dysen- 
tery at  the  time  of  his  desperate  but  successful  at- 
tack upon  Quebec — to  Nelson,  at  Trafalgar,  muti- 
lated in  former  encounters  with  the  enemy,  having 
l^ut  a  single  arm  and  eye,  and  now  seeking  only  for 
a  glorious  death. 

It  may  be  that  the  outward  sense,  being  reduced 
by  bodily  infirmity  or  great  suffering  of  mind,  which 
oppresses  the  functions  of  the  body,  dispels  timid- 
ity, yet  in  a  low  state  of  the  nervous  system  we 
often  see  womanish  fear.  We  cannot  wholly  analyze 
the  secret  operations  of  disease  ;  some  men,  no 
doubt,  are  made  fierce  by  derangement  of  the  bodily 
organism ;  the  natural  temper  of  the  mind,  we  should 
suppose,  would  have  much  to  do  with  such  a  de- 
velopment ;  but  as  we  see  an  insane  man  fearless  of 
consequences,  so  may  nervous  derangements,  ope- 
rating upon  some  faculties,  give  to  them  a  morbid 
perversity  and  an  unnatural  energy. 

*  "  Life  of  Pelopidas." 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES.  73 

How  essential  a  sound  bodily  condition  is  to  suc- 
cess in  the  world,  indeed  to  the  development  of  all 
great  qualities,  though  somewhat  trite,  it  may  he 
interesting  to  consider  in  some  particulars.    "To  be 
weak  is  miserable  doing  or  suffering,"  although  re- 
presented by  the  poet  as  spoken  by  Satan,  is  an 
axiom  applicable  to  human  life.   The  strength  which 
is  needed  is  not,  however,  necessarily  of  bones  and 
sinews,  but  the  physical  vigor  which  is  required  for 
putting  into  practical  use  the  powers  of  the  mind. 
A  pubhc  speaker  must  have  not  only  strength  of 
voice,  but  nervous  energy  sufficient  to  bear  the  waste 
induced  by  the  effort  of  body  and  mind,  so  as  to 
avoid  the  disagreeable  exhibition  of  exhausted  vi- 
tality— the  eye  without  speculation — the  face  with- 
out expression  of  thought.     In  conversation  some- 
thing of  the  same  endurance  is  requisite  to  sustain 
the  vivacity  which  social  impulse  calls  forth.     In 
order  to  have  influence  on  another  mind,  quickness 
and  energy  are  essential  qualities  ;  persuasion  does 
not  depend  so  much  on  sound  argument  as  upon 
adaptedness  of  what  is  said  to  the  particular  occa- 
sion— quickness  of  appHcation  and  facility  of  ex- 
pression ;  exuberance  of  spirit  has  of  itself  a  mo- 
mentum ;    disjointed   altogether   from   intellectual 
power,  it  becomes  a  mere  physical  force  ;  it  may  in- 
timidate but  not  persuade  ;  but  with  the  adjunct 
of  some  vigor  of  mind,  even  though  moderate,  it 
will  wield  a  greater  control  than  the  more  logical 
thought  of  a  nerveless  man. 


Y4  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

An  author  is  physically  tasked  by  the  labor  of 
composition  ;  intense  application  of  mind  is  in  itself 
exhausting.  No  one  can  have  success  as  a  wi'iter 
who  has  not  bodily  vigor  adequate,  not  merely  to 
sustain  the  labor  of  thinking,  so  as  to  preserve 
equanimity,  but  also  to  bear  the  exhaustion  caused 
by  the  mechanical  work. 

In  fine,  sound  thinking  depends  much  on  sound 
health  ;  irritability  of  stomach,  or  any  disease  af- 
fecting the  temper  of  the  mind,  must  impair  clear- 
ness of  thought,  and  the  social  sympathies  which 
give  practical  direction  to  thought.  There  is,  in- 
deed, what  may  be  called  a  physical  strength  of 
mind,  which  has  not  much  to  do  with  a  clear  per- 
ception of  right  and  a  conscientious  regard  for  it ; 
or  if  there  be  clearness  of  view,  it  is  that  which 
comes  from  entire  absence  of  reflection,  so  that  there 
is  no  occasion  for  doubt.  This  phase  of  mind  is 
singularly  unimpressible  by  argument,  and  whether 
it  be  owing  to  obesity  of  understanding,  or  an  aus- 
tere rigidity  of  will,  is  a  low  order  of  character, 
nearly  allied  to  the  animal,  and  is  generally  found 
conjoined  with  a  coarse,  unpliable,  muscular  frame. 

Then  again  there  is  the  strong  will,  fixed  by  some 
intense  master-passion,  and  this  may  be  seen  in  a 
feeble  body  ;  often,  indeed,  it  may  be  that  the  body 
is  too  weak  for  the  efibrt  it  is  put  to  by  the  energy 
of  the  mind.  In  general,  strength  of  character  has 
to  be  sustained  by  some  habitual  resource — a  recur- 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIKIES.  75 

rence  of  the  mind  to  certain  modes  of  thought  pe- 
culiar to  the  individual^  either  by  nature  so  strong 
as  originally  to  control  his  mental  processes,  or  which 
have  become  familiar  by  long  use.  As  Wisdom  is 
represented  by  the  poet  as  seeking  "  retired  solitude, 
where  she  plumes  her  feathers  and  lets  grow  her 
wings,"  so  the  most  active  mind  finds  occasion  often 
to  withdraw  from  the  collision  of  the  world  to  its 
own  secret  thoughts  and  impulses,  from  which  it 
derives  its  aliment.  By  these  its  self-complacency, 
which  is  continually  impaired  by  the  rough  passages 
of  life,  is  again  restored,  its  cherished  purposes  are 
renewed,  and  a  new  energy  imparted.  Various  are 
the  resources  of  different  men,  but  whatever  they 
may  be,  the  resort  to  the  habitual  source  of  strength 
is  like  that  of  Antaeus  to  his  mother  earth,  as  rep- 
resented in  the  ancient  fable. 

Capacity  to  bear  the  fatigue  of  mental  labor  de- 
pends, as  before  remarked,  upon  nervous  energy ; 
so  also  the  power  of  enduring  pain  of  body  or  an- 
guish of  mind.  Those,  however,  that  we  call  ner- 
vous people,  have  not  strong  nerves  in  the  sense  now 
spoken  of ;  they  have  sensitive  or  irritable  nerves, 
without  power  of  bearing  any  unusual  action,  or  of 
resisting  or  controlling  any  disturbing  force.  Ill 
health  may  weaken  the  nerves,  and  this  is  generally 
so,  though  there  may  be  disease  not  affecting  vital 
organs  which  will  not  impair  vigor  of  mind.  Dis- 
eases of  the  liver  are  most  fatal  to  mental  energy. 

4 


70  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

Under  the  theory  which  I  have  suggested,  it  is 
evident  that  incessant  strain  of  mental  powers,  that 
is  to  any  greater  effort  than  is  natural,  impairs  their 
strength,  as  hardship  and  overstraining  the  bodily 
system  will  impair  the  strength  of  the  latter.  Over- 
tasking either  mind  or  body  for  a  present  object  is, 
therefore,  in  a  prophylactic  view,  short-sighted  po- 
licy. Better  is  it  to  forego  for  a  time,  or  even  alto- 
gether, some  part  of  what  we  aim  at,  than  by  forced 
effort  waste  our  vigor  without  the  possibility  of  re- 
paration. Impatience  to  accomplish  immediately 
some  object  of  desire,  whether  it  be  the  acquiring  of 
a  great  name  in  the  world,  the  accumulation  of  a 
fortune,  or  whatever  else  may  be  intensely  sought, 
is  the  origin  of  much  iiTcgular  and  misappropriated 
action.  This  evil  is  observable  in  the  habits  of  pro- 
fessional men,  especially  the  clergy  of  this  country, 
whose  course  of  study  has  little  relief  by  variety. 
A  clergyman  is  expected  to  give  himself  up  entirely 
to  the  duties  of  his  charge,  and  has  consequently 
little  leisure  for  rest  of  the  mind,  or  even  for  doing 
deliberately  what  requires  thought  and  pains-taking. 

A  paragraph  from  an  article  in  an  English  Ke- 
view  upon  this  subject  has  much  force  :* 

"  In  this  respect,  to  be  sure,  the  fate  that  has 
overtaken  the  clergy  is  only  the  same  that  has  fallen 
upon  every  order  of  men — upon  thtr  medical  profes- 

* Frazer^'s  Magazine:  184T,    " Recollections  of  Dr.  Chalmers." 


ETHICAL  AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES.  77 

sion — upon  the  profession  of  law — upon  ministers 
of  State — upon  members  of  the  legislature — all 
over- worked,  driven  on  as  by  the  force  of  a  hurri- 
cane, which  leaves  them  no  faculty  of  deliberate 
thought,  not  even  the  time  to  go  through  the  busi- 
ness on  hand,  except  in  the  most  perfunctionary  and 
inefficient  manner.  It  is  a  miserable  system,  which 
must  ere  long,  unless  it  be  checked,  prove  fatal  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  country/' 

There  is  in  the  progressive  change  of  the  human 
organism,  from  youth  onward  in  life,  certainty  in 
the  midst  of  uncertainty.  Nothing  is  more  certain 
than  that  within  a  period  of  four  score  years,  or,  in 
a  few  exceptional  cases,  a  little  upward,  the  infir- 
mities of  old  age  will  supervene  ;  but  nothing  is 
more  uncertain  in  respect  to  any  individual  than 
what  point  he  will  reach  within  this  ultimate  limit. 
Accidental  causes  may  bring  on  premature  decrepi- 
tude that  naturally  belongs  to  advanced  years.  The 
vigor  of  youth  may  suddenly  fail  under  the  blight- 
ing influence  of  vice,  or  of  latent  disease  descended 
from  ancestral  vice  or  improvidence.  Any  rule  for 
the  regulation  of  life  must  have  reference  to  the  ex- 
ception as  well  as  the  general  course  of  nature. 
Disappointed  hope,  reverses  in  life,  or  whatever  dis- 
turbs or  oppresses  the  mind,  undermines  also  health 
of  body,  and  ftw  there  are  who  do  not  meet  with 
some  of  these  before  the  set  time  of  natural  decay. 
Irrespective  of  such  disturbing  forces,  there  is  in 


78  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQriKIES. 

every  human  being  a  certain  degree  of  vital  energy, 
which  will,  in  regular  course,  last  its  specific  time, 
and  then  run  out.  We  indeed  imagine,  in  early  life, 
that  there  is  in  us  a  self-renewing  power  that  prom- 
ises perpetuity,  and  so  there  is  to  a  certain  extent 
at  that  period,  it  being  provided  for  the  growth  and 
perfection  of  the  body  ;  but  in  middle  life  we  become 
sensible  of  the  want  of  the  recuperative  energy 
which  had  before  enabled  us  to  resist  many  rude 
shocks,  and  to  rally  from  a  state  of  prostration  ; 
further  on  in  life  the  vital  power,  although  adequate 
to  the  ordinary  wear  of  the  corporeal  mechanism, 
becomes  more  feeble  in  its  renovating  action.  Dis- 
ease or  bodily  injury  of  any  kind  is  then  more  dan- 
gerous ;  the  sorrows  of  life  have  a  more  tenacious 
grasp  ;  they  are,  indeed,  resisted  with  more  appa- 
rent firmness  than  belongs  to  youth  ;  but  the  re- 
sistance, though  it  keeps  up  the  semblance  of 
strength,  often  ends  in  a  sudden  and  fatal  issue. 

From  this  constitution  of  our  nature  it  is  in  early 
life  sensuous,  because  overflowing  with  surplus  vi- 
tality, and  the  mind  partakes  of  the  same  exube- 
rance. Our  thoughts  and  feelings  are  then  associ- 
ated with  objects  of  sense,  and  we  can  scarcely 
conceive  of  a  state  of  enjoyment  independent  of  the 
sensual  element.  Afterwards  we  learn  that  what 
was  so  enchanting  to  our  youthful  imagination  is  a 
source  of  pain  as  well  as  pleasure  ;  and,  if  our  ex- 
perience be  under  proper  direction,  we  are  compelled 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  79 

to  seek  for  happiness  more  in  inward  and  permanent 
consciousness  than  in  the  external  and  changing. 
Thus  is  there  a  process  of  discipline  which,  wisely- 
regulated,  moulds  the  character  of  every  man  into 
distinctness  and  almost  isolation.  Fortunate  will 
it  be  if  a  wholly  selfish  convergence  of  thought  shall 
he  avoided,  while  the  mind  finds  in  itself  its  power 
of  sustentation  and  chief  sources  of  enjoyment,  yet 
has  sympathy  with  all  other  natures  congenial  to  its 
own,  and  a  sense  of  pleasure  reduplicated  by  being 
imparted  to  or  enjoyed  with  them. 

Then  follows  infirmity  of  body,  which  gradually 
alienates  the  mind  from  its  corporeal  association, 
and  leads  it  to  contemplate  a  spiritual  state  of  ex- 
istence as  the  only  permanent  condition.  Intimacy 
with  the  few  early  friends  that  may  stiU  survive, 
will  maintain  its  hold  and  become,  indeed,  more 
sacred  than  ever  before  ;  but  this  is  all  that  remains 
of  earthly  affinity.  Thought  of  the  future,  and  of 
the  state  of  the  larger  number  who  have  gone  before 
to  a  mysterious,  unrevealed  condition  of  life,  and  a 
stronger  reality  of  the  relation  of  the  soul  to  its  di- 
vine author,  are  more  and  more  present  to  the  mind 
with  advancing  years.  Weakness  of  the  body, 
whether  the  eflrect  of  old  age  or  prematurely  in- 
duced in  earlier  years,  is  a  powerful  preparative  for 
religious  thought.  The  healthful,  especially  in  early 
life,  feel  self-sufficiency  in  their  strength  ;  the  old 
and  infirm  feel  a  sense  of  weakness,  and  naturally 
look  to  a  support  out  of  themselves. 


80         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIKIES. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  consider  more  in  detail 
the  influence  of  weak  health  in  the  formation  of  a 
religious  character  ;  for  the  present  I  shall,  how- 
ever, only  remark  that  not  merely  is  a  religious  turn 
of  mind  promoted  by  bodily  infirmity,  but  some 
peculiar  phases  of  opinion  and  feeling  are  generated 
thereby,  which  are  perhaps  erroneously  attributed 
to  a  mistake  of  judgment. 

As  religion  has  to  do  with  feeling  as  well  as  opin- 
ion, it  cannot  well  be  otherwise  than  that  its  devel- 
opment should  be  largely  influenced  by  the  state  of 
health.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  best  form 
of  piety  is  not  that  which  has  been  wholly  brought 
out  under  bodily  suifering.  A  spiritual  frame  of 
mind  is  indeed  the  highest  source  of  consolation  in 
suflering,  but  there  can  hardly  fail  to  be  some  per- 
version, by  the  sympathy  which  the  mind  has  with 
the  body.  Even  the  well-tried  Christian,  who  has, 
in  the  vigor  of  life  and  the  full  maturity  of  his 
powers,  been  devoted  to  the  service  of  God,  will, 
under  the  influence  of  disease,  sometimes  fall  into 
despondency.  His  faith  will,  indeed,  not  fail  him, 
nay,  perhaps  may  be  even  brighter  at  the  last ;  but, 
in  protracted  illness,  human  weaknesses  will,  to 
some  extent,  be  intermingled  with  and  give  color  to 
divine  truth.  Then,  as  to  the  enjoyment  of  reli- 
gious hope,  there  may  be  sometimes  seen  in  the 
midst  of  suffering  a  cheerful  and  even  triumphant 
elevation  of  mind,  like  that  described  by  the  apostle 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  81 

Paul  "as  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicingj  *  *••' 
as  having  nothing,  yet  possessing  all  things."  (II 
Qor.,  6-10.)  Yet  this  is  a  high  order  of  faith,  and 
may  require,  perhaps,  a  certain  degree  of  physical 
strength  and  firmness.  There  are,  however,  many 
other  cases  where  there  is  a  low  state  of  feeling — a 
self-distrust,  and  want  of  a  clear  and  comfortable 
hope. 

Some  nervous  diseases  overcast  the  mind  and  give 
a  sombre  aspect  to  all  the  thoughts.  If  it  may  be 
so  in  respect  to  the  present  life,  is  it  strange  that  it 
should  be  the  same  with  what  lies  beyond,  of  which 
we  have  a  less  vivid  sense  ?  Dr.  Moore  has  observed 
that  "  there  is  many  a  fine  spirit  so  mistaken  as  to 
gather  clouds  about  its  faith,  which  obscures  the 
light  of  heaven,  and  whose  conscientiousness  causes 
the  feelings  of  the  body,  opposing  and  distracting 
the  better  desires  of  the  mind,  to  seem  like  the  wit- 
ness ift  themselves  of  a  perpetual  condemnation  ;" 
and  he  suggests,  for  the  consolation  of  such  persons, 
that  there  are  impressions  upon  the  nervous  organ- 
ization which  inevitably  afiect  the  mind,  but  which 
are  sinful  or  otherwise  just  in  proportion  as  they 
are  indulged  or  resisted. --^ 

As  to  regimen  of  life  for  the  conservation  of 
health,  much  has  been  written,  but  I  have  found 
little  advantage  from  all  I  have  read,  except  as  sug- 

•  "  Use  of  the  Body  in  Relation  to  the  Mind." 


82  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

gestions  in  aid  of  my  own  observation.  Some  gene- 
ral axioms  there  are  which  have  application  to  all 
men,  but  for  the  most  part  what  is  chiefly  available 
is  that  which  a  man  has  himself  observed  in  his  own 
experiencCj  if  he  has  the  habit  of  attending  to  what 
affects  his  well-being.  After  all,  it  is  not  so  much 
want  of  knowledge  as  want  of  firmness  to  pursue 
the  course  which  is  known  to  be  best,  that  is  the 
cause  of  most  evil  practices  in  the  world. 

Among  the  directions  relating  to  health,  I  think 
those  are  of  chief  consequence  which  have  in  view 
the  mutual  influence  of  mind  and  body.  Health, 
according  to  the  definition  I  have  before  given,  in- 
volves both  mental  and  corporeal  soundness.  As  to 
habit  of  mind,  interchange  and  variety  suit  best  in 
youth  ;  uniformity  in  advanced  life.  In  fact,  habit 
becomes  of  itself  a  positive  enjoyment  unless  vicious, 
and  it  is  well  if  all  a  man's  habits  have  been  prop- 
erly formed,  for  there  is  the  same  tenacity  ^of  the 
evil  as  the  good,  although  not  equally  the  source  of 
pleasure  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  former  are  the  cause 
of  misery,  yet  seldom  given  up.  Bacon  recom- 
mended, "  to  entertain  hopes,  mirth  rather  than  joy, 
variety  of  delights  rather  than  surfeit  of  them,  won- 
der and  admiration,  and  therefore  novelties  ;  studies 
that  fill  the  mind  with  splendid  and  illustrious  ob- 
jects, as  histories,  fables,  and  contemplations  of  na- 
ture."* 

*  Bacon's  Essay,  "  Regimen  of  Health. " 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES.  83 

As  to  discipline  of  the  body,  there  are  certain 
commonplace  rules  which  apply  in  a  state  of  health, 
but  are  unsafe  if  there  be  weakness  or  disease.  Cold 
hatJiing  gives  vigor  to  a  constitution  which  is  natu- 
rally healthy,  and  may  be  of  service  even  where  there 
is  weakness,  if  there  is  no  organic  disease.  Exercise 
is  not  equally  of  use  to  all.  A  quiet  condition  suits 
better  with  some  persons,  particularly  where  there 
is  general  weakness.  Diet,  in  many  cases,  is  more 
important.  Much  exercise  does  not  appear  to  con- 
duce to  long  life.  A  habit  of  ease,  so  that  no  hurt- 
ful indulgence,  as  the  use  of  strong  drinks,  &c.,  be 
added,  on  the  whole,  is  most  favorable  to  longevity. 

4* 


3s:x. 


NAKCOTIC   STIMULANTS. 

TOBACCO,    OPIUM,    INDIAN    HEMP,    ETHER,    CHLORO- 
FORM,   &C. 


It  is  uncertain  what  acquaintance  the  ancients 
had  with  the  narcotic  principle.  Hellehore  is  spo- 
ken of  by  Greek  and  Koman  writers  as  produ6ing 
madness,  and  also  a  cure  for  maniacal  diseases  ; 
which  use  of  it  must  therefore  have  been  in  accord- 
ance with  the  modern  homoeopathic  theory.  It 
seems  also  to  have  been  taken  sometimes  for  a  sup- 
posed property  of  giving  clearness  to  the  mind. 
Mandragora,  commonly  understood  to  be  the  plant 
now  known  as  the  mandrake,  but  which  hypothesis 
is  not  sustained  by  satisfactory  proof,  was  the  sub- 
ject of  superstition  which  has  extended  even  to  later 
times.  It  was  supposed  to  have  miraculous  powers 
and  to  be  be  used  in  witchcraft — a  fabulous  prop- 
erty was  also  attributed  to  it  of  producing  sensual 
fertility. 

The  most  powerful  narcotics  now  used  have  been 
introduced  within  a  recent  period,  unless  there  may 
be  some  truth  in  the  conjecture  that  the  hemp  was 
known  by  the  priests  in  Asiatic  nations,  as  it  is  cer- 
tain that  some  stimulant,  powerfully  affecting  the 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   ESTQUIEIES.  85 

mind,  was  resorted  to,  particularly  in  Phrygia,  the 
knowledge  of  which  may  have  been  carried  thence 
to  Greece  and  Italy. 

A  classification  may  be  made  into  three  distinct 
orders  of  stimulants  :  1.  Those  which  have  a  seda- 
tive effect  of  so  mild  a  character  as  to  admit  of 
habitual  use,  and  though  in  the  end  resulting  in 
injury,  yet  not  immediately  destructive  to  the  vital 
functions,  of  which  class  tobacco  is  chiefest  in  im- 
portance. 

2.  Such  stimulants  as  have  a  nervous  influ- 
ence, when  used  in  any  quantity,  if  it  be  done 
habitually,  of  which  opium  is  the  principal.  It  is 
used  largely  in  the  East,  and  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent in  Europe,  and  when  once  the  habit  is  con- 
tracted it  is  rarely  overcome.  Although  the  first 
effect  is  a  pleasing  illusion  and  a  seeming  aerial  ac- 
tion of  mind,  yet  the  ultimate  result  is  weakness  of 
all  the  intellectual  powers.  Among  the  Orienlals, 
especially  the  lower  class,  a  disgusting  stolidity, 
often  even  idious,  may  be  seen.  We  have  some 
memorable  instances  of  the  use  of  opium  in  Eng- 
land, which  would  seem  to  show  that  intellectual 
vigor  may  be  maintained,  despite  the  baneful  conse- 
quences I  have  supposed.  Yet  it  may  be  observed 
of  Coleridge  and  De  Quinsey,  that  their  efforts  were 
spasmodic  —  that  both  of  them  had  a  dreamy  va~ 
cancy  of  thought  at  times,  whereby  considerable 
part  of  their  lives  was  wasted  ;  and  again,  it  can 


86  ETHICAL    AND    rnTSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

hardly  be  estimated  how  much  temporary  resistance 
to  the  indulgence  may  have  been  enforced  under 
great  pressure — in  other  words,  how  much  they  may 
have  been  saved  by  the  incessantly  recurring  neces- 
sity of  restraint,  in  order  to  accomplish  theii*  intel- 
lectual tasks. 

Hemp,  now  commonly  known  by  the  Arabian 
term  Hashish,  belongs  also  to  this  class,  though  it 
is  still  less  susceptible  than  opium  of  daily  use.  It 
has,  indeed,  little  adaptedness  to  the  civilized  life 
of  Europe  and  this  country.  The  effect  is  too  ex- 
cessive in  degree  to  admit  of  frequent  repetition. 
According  to  the  reports  we  have,  the  action  of 
mind  produced  by  it  is  wild,  often  amounting  to 
frenzy — add  to  which  there  is  always  danger  to  a 
sensitive  nervous  organism. 

3.  Narcotics,  whose  direct  tendency  is  to  produce 
suspense  of  consciousness,  and  if  taken  in  any  consid- 
erable quantity,  will  be  fatal  to  life — ^hence,  in  medi- 
cal science,  called  ancesthetics,  which  signifies  liter- 
ally substances  that  destroy  corporeal  sense. 

Opium  might  be  included  under  this  head,  as 
when  taken  in  sufficient  quantity  it  produces  coma 
and  even  death  ;  yet,  used  in  a  moderate  degree,  it 
has  other  effects,  before  referred  to,  which  distin- 
guish it  from  narcotics  which  merely  diminish  sen- 
sibility. 

The  other    principal  anesthetics  are  sulphuric 
ether  and  chloroform  —  the  former  manufactured 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  87 

from  alcohol  and  sulphuric  acid,  the  use  of  which 
for  alleviating  pain  was  brought  into  public  notice 
in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  but,  probably 
owing  to  some  imperfection  in  the  mode  of  prepa- 
ring it,  did  not  come  into  much  use  till  within  a  re- 
cent period  ;  the  latter,  obtained  from  the  distillation 
of  chloride  of  lime  and  alcohol,  was  first  introduced 
into  use  in  1846,  at  Boston,  for  relief  from  pain  in 
surgical  operations,  and  has  since  been  brought  into 
general  use  in  all  cases  where  ether  had  been  re- 
sorted to.  Chloroform  was  for  a  time  preferred  to 
ether,  on  account  of  its  superior  power  over  the 
nerves,  but  numerous  deaths  having  ensued  from  its 
effect,  it  is  deemed  safer  to  use  it  in  combination 
with  ether. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  the  medicinal 
properties  of  narcotics,  but  to  consider  the  effect  of 
habitual  use.  Of  opium  I  know  little,  except  from 
what  has  been  published  and  is  familiar  to  most 
readers  of  newspapers  and  magazines. 

Of  tobacco  I  have  some  personal  knowledge,  and 
I  can  render  no  greater  service  than  to  notice  some 
of  the  prominent  incidents  of  the  use  of  this  nar- 
cotic. 

Example  is  better  than  precept.  The  narrative 
of  the  close  of  a  drunkard's  life,  when  his  health 
has  been  shattered,  his  mind  impaired,  and  the 
horrors  of  penury,  imbecility,  alienation  of  friends, 
and  desolation  of  his  family,  have  gathered  around 


88  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

their  helpless  victim,  have  done  more  to  arrest  the 
first  step  of  inebriation  than  all  the  moral  persuasion 
that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  The 
"  Confessions  of  an  Opium  Eater"  startled  the 
fashionable  world  in  England,  by  the  vision  of  the 
infernal  conceptions  resulting  from  the  use  of  a  per- 
nicious drug,  the  first  effects  of  which  are  singularly 
pleasing  to  the  senses.  It  has  been  objected  that 
the  writer  of  these  ^^  Confessions"  has  depicted  too 
attractively  the  delights  arising  from  the  first  use  of 
opium,  which  beguiles  its  votaries  into  a  continued 
use.  But  it  must  be  a  superficial  mind  that  can  be 
allured  by  the  insane  joy  attending  first  indulgence, 
when,  at  the  same  time,  are  brought  into  view  the  re- 
lentless craving  and  unavailing  efforts  to  resist  it 
— the  horrors  which  terrify  the  mind,  and  yet  are 
insufficient  to  rouse  up  resolution  enough  to  with- 
stand the  iron  grasp  which  drags  the  poor  victim  to 
the  renewal  of  scenes  at  which  his  soul  revolts. 

The  confessions  of  a  tobacco  smoker  or  chewer  do 
not  involve  such  strong  lights  and  shades.  There 
is  no  trance  or  spiritual  vision  to  tempt  the  novice. 
Indeed,  to  outward  observation,  nothing  would  seem 
more  opposite.  All  the  association  is  disgusting — 
foul  secretion — the  unclean  mouth — the  vile  spittoon 
— no  household  gods  could  have  been  found  for  such 
unseemly  things.  The  Venus  Cloacina  of  the  Ko- 
mans — the  divinity  of  the  sewers,  the  great  recep- 
tacles of  the  filth  of  the  city,  would  alone  have  been 
appropriate. 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQIHRIES.  89 

Yet  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  tliat  the 
use  of  tobacco,  which  to  the  outward  sense  is  so  re- 
volting, has  nq(;hing  attractive.  There  is  a  feeling 
of  quiescence  resulting  from  the  narcotic  power  of 
tobacco  upon  the  nerves. 

Smoking,  which  is  the  most  common  form  of  the 
use  of  tobacco,  is  probably  the  most  hurtful  though 
not  the  most  offensive.  King  James'  Counterblast 
was  not  extravagant  in  designating  it  as  "a  custom 
loathsome  to  the  eyes,  hateful  to  the  nose,  harmful 
to  the  brain,  dangerous  to  the  lungs,  and  in  the 
black  and  stinking  fumes  thereof,  nearest  resem- 
bling the  horrible  Stygian]  smoke  of  the  pit  that  is 
bottomless." 

The  first  inhalation  is  not,  indeed,  nauseous, 
which  may  be  attributed  to  a  certain  aroma  inter- 
fused in  the  manufacture  of  the  tobacco,  but  the 
ultimate  odor  is  utterly  repugnant  to  dehcate  sensi- 
bility. There  is,  in  fact,  something  intolerable  in 
the  stench  appurtenant  to  a  room  where  there  is 
habitual  smoking — hence,  in  the  hotels  a  room  is 
specially  assigned  for  this  indulgence,  and  latterly 
in  railroad  travelling  a  car  is  given  up  for 
the  use  of  those  who  cannot  endure  even  a  few 
hours  privation  of  their  habitual  stimulus.  My 
attention  has  been  attracted,  in  my  journeyings,  to 
the  many  vacant  seats  of  those  who  have  gone  to 
the  smoking  car,  not  a  few  of  whom  have  had 
ladies  in  their  charge,  but  have  preferred  the  fumes 


90  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQriEIES. 

of  the  segar  to  the  social  pleasure  of  their  compan- 
ions. 

It  may  be  worth  our  noticing  the*  direct  effect  of 
different  narcotics.  Opium  acts  specifically  upon 
the  brain  —  nightshade  (the  hella  donna  of  the 
Materia  Medica)  produces  congestion,  similar  to 
what  takes  place  by  a  ligature  round  the  neck,  pre- 
venting a  return  of  venous  blood  from  the  head. 

Aconite  acts  upon  the  sympathetic  nerves,  pro- 
ducing intense  sensibility,  wakefulness,  anxiety,  fol- 
lowed afterward,  as  described  by  a  patient,  by  great 
clearness  of  memory  and  vivid  imagination. 

Tobacco  affects  the  nervous  system  generally — 
more  particularly  the  nerves  of  the  stomach  and 
abdomen. 

It  is  said  by  physicians,  that  all  those  substances 
which  narcotize  the  nerves  have  more  carbon  than 
hydrogen — they  seem  to  hinder  the  proper  defeca- 
tion of  the  blood  by  the  air  in  the  lungs.  This 
observation  will  be  found  important  in  determining 
the  relative  injury  of  smoking  and  chewing.  By 
the  former  the  lungs  are  more  affected,  by  the  latter 
the  stomach.  It  must  be  recollected  that  it  is  not 
a  direct  organic  lesion  of  the  lungs,  but  an  interfe- 
rence with  their  proper  office  of  purifying  the  blood, 
an  important  part  of  which  process,  it  is  well 
known,  is  the  carrying  off  of  the  carbon  of  the 
blood  by  the  air  brought  into  contact  with  the 
lungs — the  oxygen  of  the  air  uniting  with  the  carbon 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  91 

of  the  blood,  and  passing  off  in  the  form  of  car- 
bonic gas.  This  process,  it  is  obvious,  must  be  im- 
peded by  the  intermixture  of  the  smoke  of  tobacco. 
To  some  extent  this  effect  must  be  produced  by  be- 
ing in  a  room  where  tobacco  smoke  is  inhaled  by 
another,  and  this  of  itself  shows  that  the  practice 
is  discrepant  with  the  common  rules  of  social  cour- 
tesy, which  forbid  everything  offensive  to  a  delicate 
taste,  much  more  what  is  positively  injurious  to 
health. 

The  imperfect  action  of  the  lungs  upon  the  venous 
blood  is  indicated  in  the  habitual  smoker  by  a 
blanched  complexion,  so  singular  as  to  have  obtained 
the  name  of  etiolation — which  term  was  applied  to 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  as  descriptive  of  a  peculiar  ap- 
pearance which  could  not  be  otherwise  described, 
and  I  have  little  doubt  that  the  aberration  of  mind 
which  the  biographies  of  that  celebrated  man  admit 
to  have  temporarily  existed,  without  furnishing  any 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  cause,  was  attributable  to 
the  fumes  of  tobacco,  rather  than  to  the  overtask- 
ing of  his  brain  by  study. 

The  effect  of  tobacco,  when  taken  into  the 
stomach,  which  is  more  excessive  in  chewing  than 
smoking,  but  to  some  extent  takes  place  in  the  lat- 
ter as  well  as  the  former,  should  also  be  noticed. 
Persons  having  a  slow  digestion,  and  who  may  be 
said  to  have  a  melancholy  temperament,  have,  I 
think,  a  predisposition  to  the  use  of  tobacco,  and, 


92  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

having  once  commenced  the  use  of  it,  rarely  lay  it 
aside. 

Tobacco  powerfully  affects  the  stomach  and  vis- 
cera, and  is  sometimes  used  as  a  medicine  for  obsti- 
nate constipation.  The  effect  when  first  used  is 
excitant,  followed  by  vertigo  of  the  head  and  revul- 
sion of  the  stomach.  By  continued  use  the  nerves 
lose  their  natural  sensibility,  and  the  gratification 
thereafter  consists  mainly  in  allaying  an  uneasy 
state  of  the  nerves,  caused  by  the  want  of  an  accus- 
tomed stimulus.  When  the  natural  constitution  is 
not  vigorous,  loss  of  appetite  will  soon  follow,  and 
digestion,  which  at  first  seemed  to  be  aided,  will  be 
impaired. 

The  efiect  of  tobacco  upon  a  healthy  stomach, 
unvitiated  by  stimulus  of  any  kind,  is  a  distressing 
nausea.  Can  it  be  that  a  feeble  organism  does  not 
sufier  by  it,  although  it  may  have  become  so  insensi- 
ble as  not  to  indicate  it  by  the  symptoms  which  are 
so  readily  developed  in  a  healthy  system. 

It  is  a  fatal  circumstance  that  the  more  insensi- 
ble the  nerves  become  the  greater  must  be  the  quan- 
tity of  the  accustomed  stimulant,  and  though  no 
more  than  the  usual  excitement  of  the  nervous 
system  is  produced  by  the  increased  quantity,  yet 
the  chemical  action  upon  the  fluids  necessary  for 
digestion  must  be  greater.  The  secretions  of  the 
mouth  suffer  first  by  constant  spitting,  then  by  mix- 
ture with  the  smoke  or  juice  of  the  tobacco.     Saliva, 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    mQUIRIES.  93 

it  is  known,  is  impoverished  or  rendered  less  fit  for  its 
office  by  excessive  secretion.  For  the  purpose  of 
deglutition  merely,  it  is  supposed  that  any  fluid 
might  answer,  but  that  the  saliva  is  an  important 
agent  in  the  stomach.  It  is  said  to  be  proved  by 
chemical  tests  that  there  is  no  difference  between 
saliva  and  the  gastric  juice. 

The  muscular  or  membranous  action  of  the 
stomach  is  important,  and  whether  it  be  aided  by 
the  gastric  fluids,  as  the  bowels  are  by  the  pancre- 
atic secretions,  it  is  certain  that  it  must  be  impaired 
by  anything  that  diminishes  nervous  sensibility.  It 
may  be  proper  here  to  explain  a  seeming  inconsis- 
tency. I  have  said  that  the  sensibility  of  the  nerves 
was  impaired,  and  yet  have  mentioned  irritability  of 
the  nerves  as  an  effect  of  tobacco.  The  explana- 
tion is  this  :  Ajnoxious  stimulant  first  depresses  the 
natural  healthy  action — this  is  followed  by  a  mor- 
bid reaction.  The  irritability  of  disease  takes  the 
place  of  the  natural  sensibility  of  health.  A  schir- 
rhous  tumor  may  arise  from  imperfect  function  of 
a  gland  and  remain  long  inert,  and  without  sensi- 
bility, but  in  time  the  excruciating  pain  of  cancer- 
ous action  supervenes. 

It  would  be  out  of  place  to  pursue  these  profes- 
sional details  further.  They  belong  rather  to  a 
medical  treatise.  My  object  is  to  present,  in  a  popu- 
lar manner,  some  considerations  which  should  sat- 
isfy a  sound  thinking  man  as  to  his  duty  in  respect 
to  the  practice  in  question. 


94:  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOOICAL    INQUIRIES. 

The  magnitude  of  the  evil  is  becoming  developed 
in  the  alarming  increase  of  nervous  disorders.  Let 
every  parent  of  a  family  remember  that  though  he 
may  be  willing,  for  the  solace  which  his  morbid 
taste  finds  in  tobacco,  to  bear  all  the  ailments  it 
may  induce  upon  himself,  and  think  the  evil  more 
than  counterbalanced  by  the  enjoyment,  yet  will  he 
entail  upon  his  children  a  fearful  preponderance  of 
evil.  Nervous  susceptibility  will  be  preternaturally 
developed  in  them,  and  it  will  be  the  premonition 
of  a  premature  death  or  of  life-long  sufferings,  and 
so  is  verified  the  old  saying,  quoted  by  the  prophet, 
"  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the  chil- 
dren's teeth  are  set  on  edge."     (Ezek.  xviii.,  2.) 

The  same  reasoning  applies  to  every  vicious  in- 
dulgence, and  such  is  any  habit  to  be  deemed  which 
either  impairs  the  constitution  of  him  who  is  sub- 
ject to  it,  or  which  implants  the  seeds  of  disease 
that,  though  latent  in  the  parent,  will  be  developed 
in  the  children.  I  know  not,  if  tried  by  this  rule, 
whether  some  things  that  are  deemed  innocent 
might  not  come  under  proscription.  Even  coffee 
and  tea  may  be  excessive  stimulants  to  some  consti- 
tutions, and  their  effect,  in  such  cases,  is  to  impair 
the  natural  tone  of  the  nervous  system. 

Let  this  be  laid  down  as  a  cardinal  maxim,  that 
no  refinement  of  mind  resulting  from  a  too  sus- 
ceptible organism,  and  no  intellectual  power  obtained 
by  the  waste  of  bodily  vigor,  is  on  the  whole  desi- 
rable. 


EXTEKNAL    KELIGION 


The  distinction  between  Keligion  and  Piety  is 
sharply  drawn  by  the  Greek  terms  used  in  the  New 
Testament.*  There  may  be  worship  without  pious 
emotion.  The  Greek  sacrifice  to  the  gods  was  with- 
out devotion — there  was  fear,  but  nothing  of  the 
filial  reverence  which  is  the  essential  element  of  the 
Christian  faith.  De  Quinsey  has  well  said,  that  all 
heathen  worship  assumed  that  the  powers  which  had 
control  of  human  afi*airs  were  lawless  beings,  who 
were  to  be  propitiated  because  they  were  cruel.  The 
evangelical  spirit  is,  on  the  contrary,  that  of  love 
joined  with  adoration. 

There  has,  however,  always  been  a  proneness  of 
the  human  mind  to  outward  forms  of  worship  rather 
than  to  the  culture  of  devout  affections.  Even 
under  the  Christian  dispensation,  with  all  the  light 
which  has  been  shed  upon  the  darkened  minds  of 
men,  by  the  teachings  and  example  of  our  Saviour, 
we   find  in  every  age   the   ostentation  of  religion 

*  ^pricKia  and  evtreSeia—the  latter  of  which  is,  in  our  version,  translated  Ghd- 
Hness.    (1  Tim.  iv.,  8.) 


96  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUEBIES. 

more  prevalent  than  the  inward  spirit  of  piety. 
Imposing  ceremonies — the  pomp  and  pretension  of 
ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  and  all  the  external  show 
of  religious  worship,  have  arisen  from  the  natural 
inability  of  the  human  heart  to  receive  the  truth  'in 
its  simplicity,  and  to  apply  it  as  a  discipline  of  life. 
If  there  was  a  feeling  of  devotion  to  God — of 
penitence  for  transgression — ^if  there  was  self-exam- 
ination, whereby  though  our  sinful  nature  is  made 
more  manifest,  we  are  led  to  secret  communion  with 
God  in  confession  and  prayer,  there  would  be  no 
need  of  all  the  array  of  human  intervention  which 
the  Church  has  established.  The  error  of  the  world 
has  always  been  of  deeming  God  to  be  far  off.  The 
forms  of  worship  in  the  Greek  and  Koman  Catholic 
Churches  have  been  akin  to  heathen  practices.  The 
invocation  of  saints  has  rested  entirely  upon  the  basis 
that  they  are  nearer  to  God  than  we  are,  and  that 
their  intercession  will  avail  when  our  own  prayers 
would  not  be  heard.  The  office  of  priest,  so  far  as 
he  is  regarded  as  intermediate  between  man  and 
God,  is  itself  a  superstition.  It  is  true  that  the 
Jewish  priesthood,  as  delineated  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, may  seem  to  have  had  something  of  the 
mediatorial  character — ^but  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  proneness  of  the  people  to  ^idolatry  made 
an  imposing  form  of  worship,  and  a  reverence  for 
the  ministers  of  religion,  essential  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  national  faith. 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  97 

In  the  early  age  of  Christianity,  and  especially 
after  the  subversion  of  the  Eoman  Government  and 
the  dominancy  of  barbarian  tribes,  it  may  have  been 
in  like  manner  of  vital  consequence  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Church,  that  there  should  be  forms 
calculated  to  make  an  impression  upon  the  senses. 
Hence  the  pageantry  of  processions — the  gorgeous 
ornaments  of  cathedrals — the  stateKness  of  the  su- 
perior clergy — the  sonorous  ritual  of  Church  ser- 
vice— grand  and  even  rhythmical  in  expression,  some- 
times modulated  to  the  elevation  and  cadence  of 
music,  alternated  with  ejaculations  and  responses  by 
the  people. 

Not  that  these  things  were  devised  by  ecclesiastics 
merely  in  consideration  of  human  weakness ;  worldly 
pride  was  intermingled  ;  but  there  were  many  pious 
men  in  the  Church  who  labored  with  sincere  zeal 
for  the  advancement  of  religion.  To  them  we  are 
indebted  for  the  devotional  spirit  that  breathes  in 
the  ancient  liturgy.  It  may  rather  be  said  that 
pride  and  ambition  were  permitted  by  Divine  Provi- 
dence to  aid  in  the  accomplishment  of  an  ultimate 
design,  which  was  to  be  permanent  in  its  benefit, 
though  the  instrumentality  was  but  temporary  and 
gradually  to  be  superseded. 

Of  the  evangelical  Churches  of  the  present  age, 
or  at  least  of  a  considerable  part  of  them,  it  may 
be  said  that  they  do  not  make  much  account  of  ex- 
ternal forms,  and  it  ought  to  be  a  subject  of  devout 


98  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

acknowledgment  that  we  have  made  so  great  an 
advance  upon  what  has  preceded  us.  It  is  evidence 
that,  notwithstanding  the  long  lapse  of  time  and  the 
many  superstitions  that  have  prevailed,  there  has 
been  still  a  progress  in  the  development  of  the 
true  Christian  spirit. 

There  has  never  been  a  period  in  the  history  of 
the  world  when  sound  rational  religion  has  been 
better  established  than  it  has  been  in  our  own  time 
and  in  this  country.  Perhaps  in  no  former  period 
would  religion  have  retained  its  hold  of  the  public 
mind  if  divested,  to  the  extent  it  has  been  with  us, 
of  all  external  pretension. 

Such  speculations  should,  indeed,  be  indulged  in 
with  caution  ;  we  are  apt  to  make  too  free  in  our 
judgment  of  the  divine  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  this  world. 

When  we  take  into  view  that  religion  is  sustained 
here,  for  the  most  part,  by  the  voluntary  aid  of  the 
peoj)le — that  without  any  other  support  than  this 
it  is  almost  universally  acknowledged,  however  di- 
verse the  forms  of  worship  or  peculiar  tenets,  and 
the  diversity  being  in  itself  a  proof  of  the  vital 
power  which  exists,  since  notwithstanding  the  dif- 
ferences, many  of  which  are  by  no  means  trivial, 
there  is  yet  toleration  and  concert  of  action  in  the 
great  enterprises  which  properly  belong  to  the 
Christian  Church — that  our  religion  consists  not 
merely  of   a  creed  and  of  certain  observances  at 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQtJIEIES.  99 

stated  times,  but  it  enters  into  our  daily  life,  and  to 
a  great  extent  controls  the  conduct  of  men.  When, 
I  say,  we  think  of  these  things,  we  may  reasonably 
conclude  that  we  are  approaching  nearer  to  con- 
formity with  the  teachings  of  our  Lord  than  those 
who  have  lived  before.  Imperfect  as  may  be  our 
performance  of  known  duty,  and  much  occasion  as 
we  have  to  confess  our  short-coming  in  conformity 
of  life  with  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel,  yet  ought 
we  also  to  be  encouraged  by  the  progress  we  have 
made  and  to  render  thanks  to  God  for  it. 

The  assembling  of  Christians  for  prayer — the 
many  charitable  associations  in  which  different  sects 
meet  upon  common  ground  in  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship — the  domestic  training  of  children 
in  a  knowledge  of  religious  truth  and  in  conformity 
of  life  therewith — the  easy,  unaffected  recognition  of 
Christian  obligations,  even  in  the  midst  of  everyday 
business — these  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of 
well-ordered  churches  in  this  country. 

Their  peculiar  distinction  is,  however,  rather  for 
what  they  are  not  than  for  what  they  are.  It  is 
more  the  absence  of  hollow  pretension  and  Phari- 
saic ostentation,  which  would  impose  upon  the  world 
by  an  appearance  of  sanctity  that  does  not  exist  in 
the  heart — claiming  an  exclusive,  or,  at  least,  extra- 
ordinary grace,  and  seeming  to  say  to  the  rest  of  the 
world  :  "  Stand  by  thy  self ,  come  not  near  me,  for 
I  am  holier  than  thou"  (Isaiah,  Ixv.  5)  ;  and  on  the 

5 


100  ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUmiES. 

other  hand^  the  absence  of  the  fierce  fanatical  spirit, 
which  claims  to  have  spiritual  discernment  without 
the  aid  of  reason— which  has  familiar  communica- 
tion with  God,  and  despises  all  opinions  of  men  that 
would  restrain  the  riotous  emotions  of  an  insane 
mind. 

The  peculiar  trait  of  professing  Christians  in  this 
country  is,  generally,  a  rational,  consistent  charac- 
ter— not  exaggerated  beyond  what  would  comport 
with  human  infirmity — not  based  upon  mere  doc- 
trine set  up  as  the  standard  of  religion  with  com- 
paratively little  regard  to  conduct  —  but  inter- 
mingled with,  and  giving  tone  to,  the  general  habit 
of  life. 

But  while  we  should  have  a  proper  sense  of  our. 
advance  in  Christian  culture,  and  should  render  de- 
vout acknowledgment  to  God  for  it,  yet  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  ostentation  of  religion  is 
even  now  much  easier  than  the  realization  of  it  in 
our  hearts — and  that  there  is  a  proclivity  to  substi- 
tute outward  observances,  even  though  they  be  pain- 
ful and  tasking,  in  place  of  self-humiliation  before 
God. 

Many  are  thus  unconsciously  beguiled — finding 
it  more  natural  and  easy  to  submit  to  external 
penance,  than  to  undergo  self-examination,  and  to 
make  secret  confession  to  the  Great  Searcher  of 
hearts  ; — confession  to  a  priest  has  been  seen  in 
former  times  to  be  a  favorite  commutation — so  the 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         101 

worship  of  saints  and  angels — anything  rather  than 
the  unveiling  of  the  heart  before  God.  Is  not  this 
thinking  of  Him  as  unobservant  of  our  inner  life — 
is  it  not  the  seeking  of  sympathy  ivith  human  in- 
firmity,  not  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  divine 
grace  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  resist  our  natural  in- 
clination to  evil,  but  rather  a  toleration  of  the  pro- 
pensity itself  ? 

We  need  to  bear  in  mind  the  stern  admonition  of 
the  Apostle,  "Let  no  one  beguile  you  of  your  re- 
ward in  a  voluntary  humility  and  worshipping  of 
angels,  intruding  into  those  things  which  he  hath 
not  seen"  (Col.  ii.  18),  i.  e.,  the  assumption  of  ex- 
traordinary sanctity.  Such  persons  have  always 
been  in  the  world  who  will  undertake  to  bear,  not 
only  their  own  sins,  but  also  those  of  others — or,  if 
no  such  profession  is  actually  made,  yet  is  there  a 
tendency  in  the  natural  disposition  of  men  to  repose 
upon  those  who  have  obtained  a  repute  for  holi- 
ness. 

Again,  we  are  to  guard  against  the  self-decep- 
tion of  being  satisfied  with  talking  about  religion, 
with  being  in  association  with  Christians,  and  be- 
ing engaged  with  them  in  charitable  objects.  Those 
are  apt  to  talk  most  who  give  least  evidence  of  their 
piety  otherwise — I  mean,  talking  by  way  of  pre- 
tence, or  to  make  a  show  of  religion.  Of  course, 
no  one  can  be  said  to  talk  too  much  who  truly  aims 
to  impress  divine  truth  upon  others  for  their  sake 


102         ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

only,  and  not  with  a  selfish  or  worldly  motive.  It 
was  observed  by  an  unlettered  but  practical  preacher, 
that  people  of  little  religion  are  noisy — '^  he  who 
has  not  the  love  of  God  and  of  man  filling  his 
heart,  is  like  an  empty  waggon  running  downhill — 
it  makes  a  great  noise  because  there  is  nothing 
in  it." 

Association  with  pious  people,  attendance  upon 
public  worship,  and  a  decorous  observance  of  the 
usages  which  prevail  where  there  is  religious  worship 
— these  deceive  many  by  a  seeming  likeness  to  the 
true  Disciples  of  Christ,  while  there  is,  in  truth,  no 
inward  affinity  to  Christ  himself.  Such  men  there 
are,  alas,  how  numerous  !  who  live  and  die  unregene- 
rate,  yet  subject  to  an  illusion  that  they  belong  to  the 
people  of  God,  or  at  least  that  they  are  as  good  as 
those  who  have  made  profession  of  their  faith.  And 
not  alone  the  morally  upright,  but  thousands  who  veil 
under  an  outward  decorum  the  unsubdued  passions 
of  a  selfish  nature  —  envy,  uncharitableness,  ava- 
rice, sensuality.  What  shall  be  their  lot  in 
the  great  day  of  account,  is  fearfully  revealed  by 
our  Saviour — what  their  failure  in  accomplishing 
even  the  purpose  to  which  their  life  was  devoted,  is 
expressed  in  Ecclesiastes,  *^  And  so  I  saw  the  wicked 
buried  who  had  come  and  gone  from  the  place  of 
the  holy,  and  they  were  forgotten  in  the  city  where 
they  had  so  done."     (Eccl.  viii.  10.) 


INEQUALITY  IN   THE    CONDITION 
OF    MEN. 

HEBEDITARY     DISTINCTION — ^POVERTY — SERVITUDE. 


Inequality  in  society  has  always  existed,  and 
must  continue  to  exist.  It  is  a  vain  speculation  by 
which  is  sought  how  to  make  the  condition  of  all 
men  alike.  It  was  said  by  the  Jewish  lawgiver, 
not,  perhaps,  more  in  a  proj)hetic  view  than  upon 
profound  observation  of  the  character  of  our  race, 
"  The  poor  shall  never  cease  out  of  the  land," 
(Deut.  XV.  11)  ;  and  our  Saviour  said,  "  For  ye 
have  the  poor  always  with  you,"  (Matt.  xxvi.  11.) 

It  has  been  a  favorite  theory  with  many,  of  late 
years,  that  society  should  be  re-organized,  and  the 
hardships  of  a  large  part  of  the  community  are  at- 
tributed to  an  arbitrary  and  unjust  social  constitu- 
tion. If,  however,  we  examine  the  origin  of  these 
inequalities,  it  will  be  found  that  they  are  inherent 
in  the  very  nature  of  man.  Oppression  may  be 
ameliorated,  a  greater  degree  of  comfort  may  be  en- 
joyed by  the  poor,  but  poverty  must  still  exist,  and 
privations  continue  to  be  the  lot  of  a  large  part  of 
the  race. 


104:         ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL     INQUIRIES. 

While,  however,  we  may  deplore  the  general 
state,  and  feel  a  philanthropic  interest  in  whatever 
promises  relief  to  the  suffering,  yet  we  are  not, 
therefore,  to  assume  that  all  which  seems  to  be 
hardship  is  unmixed  evil.  It  would  induce  a  doubt 
of  the  beneficence  of  the  Divine  Power  by  which 
human  affairs  are  regulated,  if  so  large  a  part  of 
the  race  have  been  subject  to  a  blight,  without  alle- 
viating circumstances.  When  we  find  that.disti^ic- 
tions  have,  in  fact,  always  existed — that  in  every 
civilized  nation  there  has  been  a  class  possessing 
wealth  and  power,  and  another  class  having  few  of 
the  comforts  of  life,  and  coerced,  by  poverty  and 
hopelessness  of  any  better  state,  into  a  subservience 
to  their  superiors  ;  add  to  this,  that  in  almost  all 
ancient  states,  and  in  some  even  at  the  present  day, 
there  has  been,  and  is  still,  another  class  held  in 
absolute  servitude  —  having  no  prospect  of  amelio- 
ration except  by  the  slow  process  of  emancipation, 
and  then  of  citizenship  after  a  long  probation,  as 
libertini  or  freedmen — we  might  be  almost  persuaded 
that  human  life  had,  as  respects  a  large  proportion 
of  the  race,  been  a  failure.  But  taking  a  large  his- 
torical range  of  view,  we  can  perceive  a  great  ad- 
vance in  social  order,  and  a  tendency  toward  a  more 
equal  enjoyment  of  life. 

It  is  impossible,  with  our  limited  prescience,  to 
measure  the  great  scheme  by  which  human  capa- 
bility is  being  developed.     The  lapse  of  centuries 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         105 

may  be  of  slight  account  in  the  great  succession  of 
events.  But  while  we  cannot  foresee  what  shall  be 
the  result  of  the  progression  which  is  now  going  on, 
and  while  there  must  necessarily  be  much  that  we 
cannot  comprehend,  for  the  reason  that  we  cannot 
know  what  lies  before  us  in  the  dim  future,  yet  is 
there  enough  to  satisfy  any  thoughtful  mind,  that 
the  vicissitudes  of  human  life  are  not  fortuitous,  or 
mere  incidents  of  chance,  but  are  subject  to  laws 
which  at  some  period,  perhaps  far  distant,  shall 
become  apparent  in  grand  consistency. 

In  the  meantime,  it  is  an  interesting  speculation 
to  inquire  how  far  we  are  able  now  to  judge  of  the 
probable  purposes  of  those  seeming  irregularities 
which  we  have  been  too  apt  to  judge  as  deflections 
from  the  order  prescribed  by  divine  wisdom  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  to  suppose,  with  the  old  heathen,  that 
there  is  a  perpetual  antagonism  between  supernatu- 
ral powers  having  control  of  human  affairs,  some  of 
which  are  hostile  and  others  friendly  to  the  happi- 
ness of  man. 

The  scope  of  speculation  is,  indeed,  still  within 
a  narrow  limit,  yet  conclusions  may,  perhaps,  now 
be  attained  in  respect  to  questions  which  have  for- 
merly baffled  inquiring  minds. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  hypotheses  which  resolve 
the  problems  of  human  life  by  referring  all  that  has 
transpired  to  a  design  had  in  view  by  Divine  Provi- 
dence, should  by  no  means  have  the  effect  of  super- 


100         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

seding  human  responsibility,  or  impairing  the  enter- 
prise of  men  in  pursuit  of  their  own  plans. 

It  is  a  mysterious,  yet  unmistakable  element,  in 
the  regulation  of  the  affairs  of  this  world,  that 
while  the  will  of  man  is  free,  and  while  it  is  often 
perverted  to  the  accomplishment  of  evil  rather  than 
good,  nevertheless,  there  is  a  superior  force  by 
which  the  aggregate  of  human  purposes  and  actions 
are  made  to  undergo  a  process  like  that  of  assimila- 
tion in  the  human  organism,  whereby  a  healthful 
secretion  is  effected,  though  many  ingredients,  dele- 
terious in  themselves,  or  when  not  combined  with 
other  things,  may  have  been  intermingled. 

I  propose  to  notice  some  of  the  principal  distinc- 
tions in  human  society,  and  enucleate  by  some  gen- 
eral considerations  how  far  they  have  subserved  any 
beneficial  end. 

I.  Hereditary  Distinctions. — A  class  of  men  has, 
in  every  nation,  had  superior  rank  by  hereditary 
right — in  some  instances  involving  the  exclusive  en- 
joyment of  public  offices,  in  others  the  possession 
of  patrimonial  estates,  the  alienation  of  which  is 
restricted,  in  some  degree,  by  law  or  usage  ;  or, 
lastly,  it  may  consist  of  honorary  titles  with  an  ap- 
panage of  personal  privileges,  to  which  may  be 
added  wealth  or  official  dignity,  but  there  may  be 
a  nobility  without  either  of  the  last-named  inci- 
dents. 

Under  a  despotical  government,  the  subjects  are 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         107 

reduced  to  a  comparative  level,  as  public  office  is 
bestowed  at  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  sovereign, 
and  a  great  estate,  or  noble  lineage,  is  obnoxious 
to  royal  jealousy,  which  can  admit  of  no  rivalry 
with  its  own  authority  or  splendor.  Yet  large 
estates,  however  subject  to  spoliation,  must  be  to  a 
considerable  extent  retained  in  families,  through 
many  generations,  by  natural  succession.  And  even 
if  the  government  should  be  maintained  by  military 
force,  yet  there  must  be  chiefs  whose  rank  must,  in 
some  degree,  be  transmissible.  Martial  dignity  is 
susceptible  of  descent  as  well  as  civil  honors. 

In  the  ancient  Greek  republics,  the  whole  body  of 
free  citizens  were  substantially  equal  in  political 
rights,  with  only  the  exception  of  what  advantage 
might  belong  to  wealth.  This  was,  indeed,  consid- 
erable, as  in  the  isolation  of  those  states,  and  the 
exclusion  of  all  those  changes  which  commercial 
enterprise  and  free  intercourse  with  other  nations 
might  induce,  family  estates  were  perpetuated  ;  add 
to  which,  the  great  destruction  of  life  by  war  pre- 
vented such  increase  of  population  as  would  di- 
minish those  estates  by  partition  among  many 
heirs.  At  Athens  the  division  of  citizens  was 
made  exclusively  with  reference  to  amount  of  prop- 
erty, the  right  to  certain  offices  being  limited  to 
the  highest  class  ;  but  as  all  the  citizens  had  the 
right  of  admission  into  it  upon  obtaining  the  requi- 
site  qualifications,   and   as    the    accumulation   of 


108        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

fortunes  was  more  frequent  there  than  in  any 
other  state,  by  the  effect  of  foreign  trade,  it  might, 
on  the  whole,  be  deemed  a  condition  of  equality. 
Other  than  the  distinction  based  upon  hereditary 
property,  there  was,  in  none  of  the  Greek  states,  a 
nobility,  or  if  it  existed  in  name,  it  was  without  any 
power  peculiar  to  the  class,  except  what  was  de- 
rived from  patrimony.  The  Eupatrids  of  Athens 
and  the  Heracleids  of  Sparta  had  no  advantage 
over  other  citizens,  save  in  the  respect  which  might 
be  voluntarily  conceded  to  ancient  families. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  vastly  more  nu- 
merous body  of  men  who  were  held  in  servitude, 
either  of  a  wholly  menial  character,  as  the  Helots 
of  Laconia,  and  the  household  and  predial 
slaves  of  Athens,  or  in  a  subject  state,  without 
political  rights,  as  the  Messenians  after  they  had 
been  conquered  by  Sparta,  and  so,  to  some  extent, 
the  colonists  which  were  sent  out  by  many  of  the 
Greek  states  to  occupy  countries  which  had  been 
subjugated,  which  colonists  were  usually  taken  from 
the  poorer  classes.  The  effect  of  slavery  was  to  re- 
lieve free  citizens  from  mechanical  labor  ;  they  had 
therefore  nothing  to  occupy  them  except  military 
service,  the  administration  of  the  government,  or 
the  pursuits  of  literature  and  art. 

The  Athenians,  who,  by  their  liberal  views  of  the 
benefit  of  trade,  were  brought  into  more  free  inter- 
course with  other  countries  than  any  of  the  Greek 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQIJIKIES.        109 

states,  were  the  most  renowned  for  intellectual  de- 
velopment. 

Perhaps  this  is  in  fact  in  part  attributable  to  the 
leisure  resulting  from  the  wealth  which  was  acquired 
under  their  polity,  but  also,  and  in  a  greater  degree, 
no  doubt,  to  the  natural  genius  of  the  people.  The 
splendor  of  their  achievements  in  the  fine  arts,  elo- 
quence, literature,  administration  of  laws,  and  even 
in  martial  prowess,  has  been  the  wonder  of  the 
world.  Brief  as  was  the  period  within  which  this 
great  development  took  place,  we  look  back  to  it 
still  with  unsated  admiration.  If  we  inquire  what 
benefit  there  was  from  the  immense  accumulation 
of  slaves,  especially  at  Athens,  the  answer  can  only 
be,  that  it  left  the  whole  body  of  citizens  at  liberty 
for  public  service.  This  was  of  the  very  highest 
consequence  for  the  preservation  of  nationality,  at  a 
time  when  war  was  the  ordinary  condition  of  almost 
every  state.  An  agricultural  population  could, 
therefore,  not  escape  from  servitude.  The  combina- 
tion of  trade  with  military  enterprise  was  probably 
the  highest  phase  of  ancient  civilization. 

The  Patricians  of  Eome  were  a  nobility,  and  had, 
until  the  extinction  of  the  Republic,  a  preponder-^ 
ance  in  the  administration  of  the  governmeut.  Paiv 
ticipation  in  public  offices  was,  indeed,  obtained  by 
the  Plebeians  after  a  severe  struggle,  but  family  dis^ 
tinction  was  always  of  great  account  with  the  Ro- 
man people.      It  was,  indeed,  possible  for  men  of 


110         ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

the  lowest  rank  to  attain  the  highest  dignity,  and 
even  to  become  enrolled  in  the  Patrician  order,  yet 
while  there  was  enough  to  encourage  the  ambition 
of  all  in  the  arduous  emulation  for  distinction, 
there  was  still  a  discrimination  between  the  old  and 
new  nobility,  and  "  novus  homo"  was  an  invidious 
term  in  aristocratic  society. 

The  marvellous  success  of  the  Romans,  I  think, 
may  chiefly  be  referred  to  the  nobility,  with  only 
this  qualification,  that  there  was  always  a  large  body 
of  Plebeians  who  were  participants  of  the  wealth  ac- 
quired by  conquest,  and  who  constituted  an  impor- 
tant element  in  the  military  force.  I  mean  that  the 
common  soldiery  of  Rome  was  not  composed  of  a 
servile  or  dependent  class,  but  had  the  self-respect 
induced  by  the  enjoyment  of  political  rights,  and 
the  prospect  of  honor  as  a  reward  for  great  services. 
Still  the  unrivalled  firmness  of  mind  which  was  in 
many  times  of  peril  exhibited  by  the  Roman  people, 
was  doubtless  in  a  more  eminent  degree  the  trait  of 
the  highest  class. 

The  ambassador  of  Pyrrhus  reported  to  his  mas- 
ter, after  an  interview  with  the  Roman  Senate,  that 
all  the  Senators  appeared  like  kings. 

After  the  appalling  disaster  at  CannaB,  it  was  the 
Senate  which  sustained  the  sinking  spirit  of  the  na- 
tion. Instead  of  losing  courage  under  the  pressure 
of  a  calamity  that  would  have  overwhelmed  any 
other  nation,  they  cheered  the  drooping  Commons 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES.        Ill 

by  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  surviving  Consul  for  not 
despairing  of  the  Republic. 

It  would  not  be  within  the  proper  limit  of  this 
brief  sketch  to  enter  at  much  length  into  an  histori- 
cal illustration  of  the  proposition  I  am  discussing. 
I  select  a  single  instance  in  later  times,which  will 
perhaps  be  more  suggestive  than  a  more  minute 
analysis. 

The  personal  freedom  of  the  English  nation  is, 
in  my  opinion,  incontestably  due  to  its  nobility,  in- 
cluding, however,  under  this  designation,  the  great 
land  proprietors  or  gentry,  although  not  noble  by 
honorary  title. 

It  was  by  the  Barons  that  the  great  charter  was 
extorted  from  King  John,  and  the  subsequent  con- 
tests for  the  restraint  of  royal  prerogative  were 
maintained  by  them  with  the  aid,  in  later  times,  of 
the  class  of  landholders  before  referred  to,  who  had 
become  of  some  weight  in  the  legislative  body  under 
the  designation  of  the  Commons.  The  burdens, 
indeed,  of  misgovernment  fell  heaviest  upon  the  lat- 
ter class,  yet  resistance  would  have  been  ineffectual 
but  for  the  powerful  intervention  of  the  nobles. 
Even  in  the  great  revolution  of  1648,  when  the 
Commons  had  become  the  preponderating  power  in 
Parliament,  they  received  support  fronj  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  nobility,  and  this  circumstance  was  prob- 
ably decisive  of  the  struggle. 

It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  at  no  period  could 


112         KTIIICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES, 

the  common  people  of  England  have  escaped  from 
crushing  despotism,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  had 
it  depended  solely  upon  their  unaided  resistance.  It 
may,  indeed,  with  equal  truth  be  said,  that  the  great 
lords  would  have  lacked  a  material  element  of  power 
had  they  been  without  the  support  of  a  bold  and 
manly  commonalty.  I  think  it  is  questionable  whe- 
ther what  we  now  deem  an  arbitrary  and  inequita- 
ble rule  of  the  English  law,  viz.,  the  right  of  pri- 
mogeniture, may  not,  after  all,  have  contributed  to 
the  independence  of  character,  which  was  a  trait  even 
of  small  landholders.  It  had,  at  least,  the  effect  of 
keeping  estates  for  a  long  period  in  the  same  family, 
which  must  have  tended  to  maintain  a  sort  of  gene- 
alogical pride,  and  in  a  rude  age,  may  have  been  the 
surest  protection  against  the  abject  poverty  which 
would  naturally  have  followed  a  division  of  incon- 
siderable estates  among  many  heirs. 

II.  The  Poor. — It  has  been  before  remarked  that 
there  is  no  possible  condition  of  society  in  which 
the  poor  will  not  be  found.  Instead  of  visionary 
schemes  for  the  equalization  of  property,  in  contra- 
vention of  the  natural  laws  by  which  human  enter- 
prise is  regulated,  or  the  more  fantastical  project  of 
relief  by  communism  of  property  and  labor,  the  true 
direction  of  philanthropy  is  to  elicit  a  fellow-feel- 
ing of  the  better-endowed  towards  those  who  are 
less  fortunate,  and  thus  to  keep  up  in  the  latter  a 
self-respecfc,  which  is  the  only  safeguard  against  de- 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIKIES.        113 

basement  and  its  kindred  vices.  Great  indeed  is  the 
change  which  in  this  respect  has  been  wrought  in 
Christianized  countries.  An  enlarged  application 
of  the  law  which  enjoined  upon  the  Hebrews  hu- 
manity to  the  poor  of  their  own  lineage,  has,  under 
the  Christian  dispensation,  made  compassion  for 
suffering,  wherever  it  may  be  found,  a  sacred  duty. 
Even  under  the  worst  perversions  of  evangelical 
truth,  by  clerical  ambition  or  fanatical  zeal,  it  has 
never  been  forgotten.  In  the  dark  ages  the  monastery 
was  an  asylum  for  the  destitute,  and  the  giving 
of  alms  to  the  poor  was  the  most  common  method 
by  which  men,  who,  under  the  religious  views  then 
prevalent,  sought  to  make  expiation  for  evil  deeds. 
In  our  own  time,  the  hospital,  asylums,  and  various 
other  charitable  institutions  for  the  reception  of  the 
sick  and  the  helpless,  and  the  reform  of  the  erring, 
attest  how  deeply  the  principle  of  charity  is  fixed  in 
the  heart  of  the  Christian  community.  Much  still 
remains  to  be  done.  We  have  yet  to  learn  more  fully 
the  extent  of  the  sympathy  which  our  Saviour  ex- 
hibited to  the  outcast,  and  his  compassion  even  for 
the  depraved.  In  the  light  of  divine  truth,  as  illus- 
trated by  Him,  an  immortal  soul,  even  in  all  the 
degradation  of  vice,  is  priceless.  All  the  distinc- 
tions of  human  society  sink  into  insignificance  when 
compared  with  the  intrinsic  worth  of  such  a  being. 
Kespect  for  what  it  is  in  its  own  nature,  and  tender- 
ness toward  the  frailty  by  which  the  gifts  so  afflu- 


114        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

ently  bestowed  are  perverted  from  their  proper  uses, 
should  supersede  the  Pharisaic  ostentation  which 
makes  a  disphiy  of  charity  as  something  entitled  to 
praise,  while  the  objects  of  the  charity  are  cheered 
by  no  words  of  kindness.  May  we  not  also  hope 
that  the  time  will  come  when  there  shall  be  a  higher 
regard  for  the  virtuous  poor,  when  rectitude  of  life 
and  unobtrusive  piety  shall  be  held  as  constituting 
worth  rather  than  the  accidents  of  fortune.  I  know, 
indeed,  of  nothing  which  more  surely  incRcates  the 
tendency  of  any  people  to  the  destruction  of  all  the 
essential  elements  of  healthful,  social  life,  than  when 
there  is  a  feeble  discrimination  of  the  qualities  most 
conservative  of  the  true  interests  of  a  community. 
A  proper  consideration  for  the  upright,  whatever 
may  be  their  condition  of  life,  has  the  effect  of  in- 
spiring self-respect  in  those  who,  in  adverse  circum- 
stances and  in  humble  life,  are  irreproachable  in 
their  conduct.  The  strength  of  any  nation  depends 
upon  the  manliness  and  virtue  of  the  lower  class. 

III.  Slavery. — I  know  of  nothing  which  can  be 
alleged  as  an  advantage  of  slavery,  except  the  doubt- 
ful benefit  which  may  have  resulted  from  it  at  an 
early  period,  when  national  independence  could  be 
maintained  only  by  military  force.  It  may  then 
have  been  essential  that  the  whole  body  of  citizens 
should  be  ready  to  bear  arms.  The  Komans,  how- 
ever, were  renowned  for  their  martial  character  be- 
fore slavery  prevailed  to  any  considerable  extent 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        115 

among  them.  I  doubt  if  civil  government  gained 
anything  by  the  exemption  of  free  citizens  from  me- 
chanical labor.  The  cultivation  of  literature  and 
arts  at  Athens  must  be  attributed  to  the  natural 
genius  of  the  people,  as  the  same  result  of  leisure 
was  not  exhibited  at  Sparta  or  Thebes.  At  Kome, 
not  only  common  handicraft,  but  even  the  more 
liberal  employments  of  architects  and  physicians, 
were  exclusively  appropriated  to  slaves  and  freed- 
men. 

The  slavery  of  Africans  in  this  country  must  be 
held  to  be  an  evil  with  little  or  no  counterbalance. 
It  would  be  idle  to  discuss  at  any  length  the  advan- 
tages alleged  to  be  derived  by  the  slaves  themselves 
from  intercourse  with  a  Christian  people.  There  will 
be  some  basis  for  this  argument  when  the  race  shall 
be  found  to  have  a  self-sustaining  character,  a  proper 
test  of  which  will  be  the  concession  that  they  are 
qualified  for  the  enjoyment  of  equal  rights  as  citi- 
zens of  this  country,  or  by  the  successful  establish- 
ment of  a  government  of  their  own  in  some  other 
region.  The  former  has  been  virtually  decided 
against  them — the  latter  is  in  process  of  experiment, 
with  but  doubtful  omens  of  a  successful  issue.  This 
last  remark  is  to  be  understood,  of  course,  as  refer- 
ring to  a  capacity  for  self-government  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  civilization.  Even  savage  tribes 
have  a  sort  of  nationality  and  a  rude  administration 
of  laws  ;  but  the  question  is,  if  the  African  race, 


116         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

which  has  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  institutions 
and  usages  of  an  enlightened  people,  can,  if  left  to 
themselves,  maintain  in  practical  efficiency  what 
they  have  so  learned,  or  whether  they  will  retrocede 
toward  their  original  barbaric  state.  However  this 
may  be,  it  admits  of  no  difference  of  opinion,  that 
any  speculative  benefit  of  the  kind  supposed,  is  no 
equivalent  for  the  cruelty  to  which  the  slave  is  sub- 
ject, and  the  vice  which  is  the  inevitable  incident  of 
his  condition. 

Equally  incontrovertible  is  the  demoralizing  effect 
of  slavery  upon  the  master.  The  leisure  which  it 
bestows  has  not  in  our  Southern  States  been  pro- 
ductive of  increased  intellectual  development.  On 
the  contrary,  vigor  of  mind  has  preponderated  in 
that  part  of  our  country  where  mechanical  labor  is 
performed  by  free  citizens.  Most  of  the  scientific, 
literary,  and  artistic  productions  which  have  given 
to  us  a  national  reputation,  have  been  educed  in  the 
midst  of  the  stir  of  commerce,  and  the  industry  of 
artisans  in  the  free  States,  not  in  the  unfruitful 
leisure  of  the  South.  It  is  but  just  to  add  that  the 
enervating  climate  of  the  latter  should  be  taken  into 
account  in  this  comparison.  Can  it,  however,  the 
doubted,  that  under  a  more  auspicious  social  system 
a  far  greater  intellectual  activity  might  have  been 
the  result  ? 


WISDOM    OF    THE    ANCIENTS 


I  THINK  we  very  much  overrate  the  actual  knowl- 
edge which  existed  in  classical  antiquity.  In  illus- 
tration of ^ this,  I  shall  refer  to  the  opinions  enter- 
tained upon  two  of  the  most  engrossing  subjects  of 
human  thought — the  one  relating  to  the  external 
world,  and  involving  in  the  solution  of  questions  to 
which  inquiry  thereof  gave  rise,  a  practical  sense 
and  patient  observation — the  other  having  to  do 
with  the  nature  of  the  soul,  and  calling  for  an  en- 
tirely different  function  of  mind,  viz.,  reflection,  or 
introversion  of  the  process  of  investigation. 

It  will  be  quite  beyond  the  scope  of  the  brief 
illustration  which  I  propose,  to  go  into  an  elaborate 
detail.  I  shall  chiefly  cite  from  the  two  most 
learned  of  ancient  writers,  the  elder  Pliny,  and  Plu- 
tarch. 

The  theory  of  the  World,  or  external  Nature,  is 
stated  by  Pliny  substantially  to  this  effect :  The 
Mundus,  or  concave  exterior  which  we  behold,  con- 
tains the  sun,  moon,  and  other  planets,  and  is,  in 
fact,  the  material  limit  of  space.  This  vault  of  the 
heavens  he  supposed  to  be  carried  swiftly  round, 
taking  with  it  all  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  earth 


118        ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL     INQUIRIES. 

being  the  centre  about  whicb  the  revolution  is  made, 
yet  that  these  bodies  had  also  another  motion,  which 
he  thus  explains  :  "  The  course  of  all  the  planets, 
and,  among  others,  of  the  sun  and  moon,  is  in  the' 
contrary  direction  to  that  of  the  heavens — that  is, 
to  the  left,  while  the  heavens  are  carried  to  the 
right"  (this  assumes  that  we  are  looking  to  the 
north),  ''  and  although  by  the  stars  revolving  con- 
stantly with  intense  velocity,  they  are  raised  up  and 
hurried  on  to  the  part  where  they  set,  yet  they  are 
all  forced  by  a  motion  of  their  own  in  an  opposite 
direction,  and  this  is  so  ordered  lest  the  air,  being 
moved  always  in  the  same  direction  by  the  constant 
whirling  of  the  heavens,  should  accumulate  into  one 
mass,  whereas  now  it  is  divided  and  separated  into 
small  pieces  by  the  opposite  motion  of  the  stars." 

The  Mundus  being  thus  placed,  he  next  proceeds 
to  make  some  curious  calculations  of  its  dimensions, 
and  of  the  distances  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  The 
opinion  of  Pythagoras  is  first  quoted,  who  estimated 
the  moon  to  be  126,000  furlongs*  from  the  earth,  and 
from  the  moon  to  the  sun,  double  that  distance ;  but 
Posidonius,  it  appears,  made  a  more  liberal  allow- 
ance. Yet  with  all  his  fantastical  conjectures,  stated 
with  as  much  gravity  as  if  they  had  been  reduced  to 
actual  measurement,  he  nevertheless  hit  upon  one 
idea  which  is  held  by  scientific  men  of  our  own 
times,  viz.,  the  limited  extent  of  the  earth's  atmo- 

*  Somewhjit  less  than  10,000  miles. 


ETHICAL   AND   PUYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  119 

sphere.  "  There  is  a  space/'  he  said,  "  round  the 
earth  of  not  less  than  40  stadia''  (the  stadium  being 
125  Koman  paces,  or  625  feet),  "whence  mists, 
*  winds,  and  clouds,  proceed,  beyond  which  the  air  is 
pure  and  liquid,  consisting  of  uninterrupted  light." 
From  the  clouded  region  to  the  moon  he  made 
2,000,000  stadia,  and  thence  to  the  sun  500,000,- 
according  to  which  the  height  of  our  atmosphere  is 
about  five  miles,  and  the  distance  to  the  moon 
250,000  miles.  Without  settling  whether  there 
might  not  be  an  error  in  this  of  a  few  stadia,  more 
or  less,  Pliny  asserts,  unconditionally  and  positively, 
the  principle  by  which  the  earth  remains  fixed  in 
the  centre,  amidst  those  counter  motions  of  the 
Mundus  and  the  planets.  Assuming  that  there  are 
four  elements,  which  he  says  no  one  has  doubted, 
the  highest  being  fire,  the  next  highest  being  air, 
these,  with  the  other  two  (earth  and  water)  are 
balanced  in  this  way,  "  the  lighter  being  restrained 
by  the  heavier,  so  that  they  cannot  fly  off,  while 
on  the  contrary,  from  the  lighter  tending  upward, 
the  heavier  are  so  suspended  that  they  cannot  fall 
down  ;  thus  by  an  equal  tendency  each  of  them  re- 
mains in  its  appropriate  place,  bound  together  by 
the  never-ceasing  revolution  of  the  world,  which 
always  turning  on  itself,  the  earth  falls  to  the  low- 
est part  and  is  in  the  middle  of  the  whole,      ^      * 

*  The  expressions  used  are  "  vicies  centum  millia,"'  and  "  quinquies  millia." 


120          ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

SO  that  it  alone  remains  immovable,  while  all  things 
revolve  around  it." 

It  should  be  recollected  that  these,  and  similar 
hypotheses,  are  gathered  by  Pliny  from  a  diligent 
reading  of  learned  authors,  among  whom  Aristotle 
had  most  favor  with  him. 

We  need  not  wonder  at  the  crude  results  of  the 
speculations  of  so  many  minds,  when  we  see  that 
even  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  the 
English  Epic  Poet  represents  Satan,  after  travers- 
ing chaos,  as  coming  upon — 

"  the  firm  opacious  globe 
Of  this  round  world,     *    * 

"a  globe  far  off 
It  seemed — now  seems  a  boundless  continent, 
Dark,  waste,  and  wild,  under  the  frown  of  Night — 
Starless,  exposed,  and  ever  threatening  storms 
Of  chaos  blustering  round." 

This  is  nothing  else  than  the  Mundus  of  Pliny,  and 
is  afterwards  designated  by  the  Poet  as  "  a  windy 
sea  of  land,''  and  again  as  "  as  a  crystalline  sphere." 
So  also  he  speaks  of  the  earth  as  a  '^pendent 
world"  hanging  on  a  golden  chain. 

Yet  Copernicus  had,  more  than  a  century  before, 
described  the  true  planetary  system,  the  motions 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the  revolutions  of  the 
earth.  Such  is  the  tenacity  of  ancient  error  that 
even  Bacon  could  smile  complacently  at  those  "  few 
carmen  which  drove  the  world  about" — alluding  to 
the  great  Prussian  astromoner  and  his  adherents.''' 

•  See  his  tract  "  In  the  Praise  of  Knowledge." 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    mQUIRIES.         121 

The  second  of  the  subjects  I  proposed  to  illustrate, 
was  ancient  speculation  upon  the  Nature  of  the  Soul. 
The  opinion  of  Pliny,  which  may  be  assumed  to  be 
the  prevalent  one  in  his  time,  is  thus  stated  in  his 
own  words  :  "  All  men,  after  their  last  day,  return 
to  what  they  were  before  the  first,  and  after  death 
there  is  no  more  sensation  left  in  the  body,  or  the 
soul,  than  there  was  before  birth.  But  this  same 
vanity  of  ours  extends  even  to  the  future,  and 
simply  fashions  to  itself  an  existence  in  the  very 
moments  which  belong  to  death  itself.  At  one 
time  it  has  conferred  upon  us  an  immortality  of 
soul,  at  another,  transmigration,  and  at  another,  it 
has  given  to  the  shades  below  and  paid  divine 
honors  to  the  departed  spirits.  As  if,  indeed,  the 
mode  of  breathing  with  man  was  in  any  way  differ- 
ent from  that  of  other  animals,  and  as  if  there 
were  not  many  other  animals,  whose  life  is  longer 
than  that  of  man,  and  yet  for  whom  no  one  ever 
presaged  anything  of  a  like  immortality.  *^  *  * 
How  is  it  (the  soul)  to  see,  or  hear,  or  touch  ?  And 
then  of  what  use  is  it,  or  how  can  it  avail,  if  it  have 
not  these  faculties  ?''  He,  therefore,  dismisses  all 
the  hypotheses  of  a  future  state  as  mere  delusions, 
and,  indeed,  as  being  undesirable  that  they  should 
be  true,  inasmuch  as  it  would  cancel  the  chief  good 
of  human  nature,  death."* 
Plutarch,  on  the   other  hand,  had  a  somewhat 

•  Nat,  HiB.,  b.  7,  c.  5C. 


122         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQriRIES. 

vague  idea  of  a  perpetual  existence  of  the  soul. 
Human  life  being  a  visible  state,  and  death  being 
a  return  to  a  latent  condition.  "  The  birth,  or 
generation  of  individuals,  gives  not  any  being  to 
them  which  they  had  not  before,  but  brings  that  in- 
dividual into  view — as  also  the  corruption  or  death 
of  any  creature  is  not  the  annihilation  or  reduction 
into  mere  nothing,  but  rather  the  sending  the  dis- 
solved being  into  an  invisible  state/'  So,  he  says, 
the  Sun,  or  Apollo,  is  called  by  the  names,  Delius 
and  Pythius,  i.  e.,  conspicuous j  but  the  ruler  of  the 
infernal  regions  is  called  Hades,  that  is,  invisible, 
and  man  himself  was  first  called  Phos,  there  being 
a  perpetual  desire  in  mankind  of  seeing  and  being 
seen — and  some  philosophers  have  held  the  soul 
itself  to  be  light,  since  nothing  is  so  insupportable 
to  man  as  obscurity.  * 

Plato,  Aristotle,  and  others,  maintained  the 
future  existence  of  the  soul,  but  when  the  doctrine 
was  reduced  to  a  popular  form  by  explanations 
necessary  to  make  it  intelligible,  it  is  apparent  that 
a  corporeal,  or  at  least  material  state  of  existence, 
was  what  they  had  in  view  in  all  the  various  modes 
of  exposition. 

At  most,  the  soul  was  but  one  of  the  higher  of 
the  four  elements,  that  is  to  say,  either  Fire  or  Air, 
or  if,  as  Aristotle  supposed,  there  was  a  fifth  nature 
or  element,  still  it  was  proximate  and  like  to  the 
others,  that  is,  material. 

*  Plutarch  "  On  Living  Concealed." 


ETHICAL    AKD   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.       123 

This  is  clearly  expressed  by  Cicero  :  "  Souls,  when 
once  they  have  departed  from  the  body,  whether  they 
are  animal  (by  which  I  mean  capable  of  breathing) 
or  of  the  tiature  of  fire,  must  mount  upwards  *  * 
-;;:•  i>  Qi-  if  it  is  that  fifth  nature"  (referring  to  the 
theory  of  Aristotle)  "  still  is  it  too  pure  and  per- 
fect not  to  go  a  great  distance  from  the  earth." 

.-:?  -;'j  ^j  ^Q  swiftness  can  be  compared  with  the 
swiftness  of  the  soul,  which,' should  it  remain  un- 
corrupt,  must  necessarily  be  carried  with  such 
velocity  as  to  penetrate  through  all  this  atmosphere, 
where  clouds,  and  rain,  and  wind,  are  formed  ;  *  * 
but  when  the  soul  has  once  got  above  this  region 
and  attained  a  lightness  and  heat  resembling  its  own, 
it  moves  no  more."* 

If  we  look  now  at  the  representation  of  the  soul 
after  death,  w^hich,  perhaps  after  all,  best  expresses 
the  popular  idea,  we  find  it  to  be  an  umbra  or 
shadowy  image  of  the  bodily  form  which  it  had  in 
this  life — retaining  the  same  propensities  and  desires, 
and  even  something  of  corporeal  appetite  and  sen- 
sibility. Thus  Homer  depicts  the  shades  of  the 
dead  as  gathering  about  Ulysses,  at  first  voiceless 
and  unconscious,  but  on  drinking  the  blood  of  the 
animals  which  had  been  sacrificed,  as  acquiring 
memory  and  the  power  of  speech.f  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the   poet   locates   them  in  a  subter- 


*  Tusc.  Qua&s.,  lib.  1,  c.  IT.  t  Odyss.,  lib.  11. 

G 


124        ETHICAL    AND   niYSlOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

ranean  region  instead  of  tlie  higher  part  of  the 
heavens,  to  which,  according  to  the  philosophical 
theory  above  mentioned,  they  should  ascend — the 
cavernous  entrance  to  this  abode  was  fabled  to  be  in 
Cimmeria,  a  land  unvisited  by  the  sun,  but  Ulysses 
did  not  go  down  into  Hades.  He  merely  made  a 
trench  about  the  ground  near  the  entrance,  and  when 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  flowed  into  the  channel 
thus  cut,  the  spirits  were  attracted  as  if  by  a  crav- 
ing to  drink  it.  It  may  be  further  observed,  that 
not  merely  were  there  these  simulacra  of  the  bodily 
forms  of  men,  but  also  of  horses  and  chariots  ;  and, 
again,  the  images  of  those  slain  in  battle,  or  other- 
wise disfigured,  were  gashed  or  mutilated  in  like 
manner. 

A  more  lively  picture  is  sketched  by  Yirgil,  in 
which  is  reproduced,  however,  the  same  shadowy 
imagery  of  the  dead,  with  the  difference  only,  that 
they  are  seen  in  the  interior  of  hell. 

If,  from  these  more  prominent  subjects,  we  should 
proceed  to  an  investigation  of  the  knowledge  exist- 
ing in  respect  to  j)ractical  science,  a  corresponding 
meagre  result  will  ajDpear.  The  learned  Athenian 
or  Koman  dealt  little  with  the  merely  useful  me- 
chanical arts.  Medicine,  physical  science,  so  far  as 
it  depended  upon  experiments,  indeed,  whatever 
required  patient  observation,  or  manual  labor,  were, 
for  the  most  part,  left  to  slaves  and  freedmen. 
Poetry,  oratory,  history,  and  mefaphysical  philos- 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        125 

ophy,  were  alone  thought  worthy  of  pursuit  by  the 
free  born  (ingenui).  If  to  this  there  should  seem 
to  be  exceptions,  as  Aristotle  and  Pliny,  still  while 
conceding  to  them  extraordinary  zeal  in  the  inves- 
tigation of  natural  phenomena,  I  think  they  are 
chargeable,  and  more  especially  Pliny,  with  a 
hasty  and  indiscriminate  admission  of  reports  not 
well  authenticated,  and  a  proclivity  to  take  what 
could  be  gathered  from  books,  rather  than  to  rely 
upon  personal  observation,  even  when  there  was 
opportunity  for  such  a  test. 

It  can  scarcely  be  estimated  how  much  the 
literature  of  that  age  was  shorn  of  fertility  by  this 
neglect  of  observation.  The  scenery  of  nature  seems 
to  be  no  element  in  ancient  poetry,  and  if  there  are 
occasional  brief  allusions  to  a  remarkable  locality, 
to  the  variegating  effect  of  morning  or  evening  light, 
the  beauty  of  a  landscape,  or  of  some  architectural 
structure,  we  attribute  much  more  to  the  poet's  con- 
ception than  probably  was  in  his  mind.  The  original 
jejune  picture  receives  coloring  and  j)roportion  from 
our  own  more  cultivated  imaginations.  The  Romans 
especially  were  deficient  in  taste  for  natural  scenery. 
As  often  as  the  Alps  were  traversed  in  the  itinera- 
tions between  Rome  and  Graul,  no  description  has 
come  down  to  us  of  anything  more  than  the  hardships 
of  the  journey.  It  is  related  of  Julius  Csesar,  that  he 
occupied  himself  in  crossing  these  mountains,  on 
his  way  into  Gaul,  with  the  composition  of  a  gram- 


126        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

matical  work,  '^  De  Analogia."*  So  the  ancient  his- 
torians give  us,  in  a  rhetorical  style,  the  narratives 
of  battles,  and  the  speeches  of  generals,  and  of 
orators  (for  the  most  part,  however,  composed  hy 
the  historian  himself)  but  as  to  those  details  which 
are  essential  for  the  understanding  of  the  actual 
condition  of  a  people,  the  growth  of  literature 
and  arts,  the  increase  or  decline  of  population, 
wealth  and  the  like,  we  look  in  vain  for  them  in  any 
but  very  late  writers,  as  Suetonius  and  Plutarch, 
and  even  these  not  dealing  methodically  with  such 
subjects,  but  only  as  mere  incidents.  As  to  the 
Greek  philosophy,  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  it  was 
barren  of  any  useful  result,  but  merely  exhibited 
the  acumen  of  great  but  misdirected  minds.  Ma- 
caulay  pithily  says,  that  it  was  marhing  time  (in 
military  phrase)  without  making  any  advance  what- 
ever, f 


•  Humboldt  has  noticed  this  insensibility  of  the  Romans.  He  allows  to  the 
Greeks  a  somewhat  greater  susceptibilit}^  to  impressions  from  exterior  nature,  but 

etui  shows  by  large  quotations  that  in  them  also  the  development  was  deficient 

Kosmos,  V.  2. 

t  Macaulay'a  Review  of  Montagu's  edition  of  the  works  of  Bacon. 


THEOLOGY. 

MINISTERS     OF     RELIGION INSTRUMENTALITIES     OF 

RELIGIOUS     KNOWLEDGE,    AND     HOW     FAR     THEY 
ACTUALLY     AFFECT     THE     POPULAR     MIND. 


Christian  Theology  has  always  been,  to  some 
extent,  abstract  or  remote  from  common  modes  of 
thinking.  This  has  arisen,  in  part,  from  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  questions  involved,  but  also  in  part 
from  a  defective  discipline  of  mind  in  the  greater 
number  of  those  who  have  undertaken  to  act  as  in- 
structors. At  an  early  period  crude  speculations 
were  inevitable.  Evangelical  truth  was  new  to  the 
world,  and  a  rational  mode  of  exposition  could  be 
acquired  only  by  a  long  experience,  in  which  human 
error  would  necessarily  be  intermingled,  and  which 
must  be  eradicated  by  oft-repeated  elaboration. 
Thus,  in  the  third  century  we  find  the  mystical  or 
symbolical  interpretation  of  Scripture  by  Origen, 
and,  although  not  in  terms  admitted  as  orthodox, 
by  the  later  Fathers,  yet  it  often  re-appears  in  their 
expositions.  Even  Augustine,  who  had,  in  fact, 
great   logical   acumen   in   polemical   discussion  of 


J 


128        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

controverted  doctrines,  was,  in  his  pastoral  exposi- 
tions of  Scripture,  fantastical  at  times  even  to  ab- 
surdity.'-' 

The  scholastic  divinity  which  was  introduced  by 
Abelard,  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  came  into 
general  use  in  the  Western  Churches  of  Europe,  su- 
perseded the  puerile  method  of  commentary  which 
prevailed  at  that  time,  but  was  carried  to  the  contrary 
extreme.  Instead  of  extracting  a  forced  meaning 
from  texts  of  Scripture,  there  was  but  little  refer- 
ence to  Scripture,  but  a  subtle  mode  of  disquisi- 
tion upon  doctrines  was  substituted,  in  conformity 
to  the  artificial  reasoning  of  the  Greek  philosophy. 
Nothing  could  be  more  unintelligible  to  the  unedu- 
cated people  than  this  metaphysical  theology,  yet 


*  A  single  instance  will  suffice  for  illustration :  In  the  homily  upon  John  ii. 
1-11,  in  which  is  related  the  changing  of  water  into  wine,  he  says,  that  the  six  loater 
pots  represented  the  six  ages  of  the  world,  viz.,  from  Adam  to  Noah,  Noah  to 
Abraham,  Abraham  to  David,  David  to  the  Captivity,  from  the  Captivity  to  John 
the  Baptist,  from  John  to  the  end  of  the  World.  He  then  proceeds :  "  They  con- 
tained two  or  three  metretce  apiece.  •  *  If  he  had  said  merely  three  apiece 
our  minds  Avould  have  turned  inevitably  to  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity,  but  neither 
ought  we,  because  he  hath  said  tv30  or  three  apiece,  at  once  to  draw  aside  the  sense 
from  that  application,  for  the  Father  and  the  Sou  being  named,  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  by  consequence  understood.  Now,  when  th3  Father  and  the  Son  are  named, 
it  is  as  though  two  metretce  are  named,  but  when  in  them  the  Holy  Spirit 
also  is  understood  three  metretce.''' 

Justyn  Martyr.,  in  answer  to  the  common  argument  of  the  Pagans  from  the 
ignominious  death  on  the  cross,  contended  that  the  cross  was  not  dishonorable — 
that  there  are  various  things  in  nature  which  have  that  figure,  as  the  sails  and 
masts  of  vessels,  ploughs,  spades,  &c.  and  that  what  distinguishes  man  from 
beasts  is  his  having  the  sign  of  the  cross  made  by  the  nose,  and  cited  Jcr.  Lara. 
iv.  20,  "  The  spirit  of  our  face,  the  Christ,"  &c.  (in  our  version  '•  the  breath  of 
of  our  nostril.?,  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,"  refen-ing,  undoubtedly,  to  the  King 
Judah.) 


ETHICAL    AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         129 

it  served  to  exercise  the  ingenuity  of  many  acute 
but  misdirected  minds.  It  became  popular  in  all 
the  schools  of  learning,  and,  during  three  centuries, 
constituted  the  whole  of  religious  instruction,  ex- 
cept what  came  from  an  humbler  source  than  profes- 
sors of  divinity  and  celebrated  preachers.  The 
mass  of  the  people  were,  however,  but  little  tasked 
by  the  learned  labors  of  the  schoolmen,  as  they 
were  contained  in  a  language  understood  only  by 
the  educated  class,  which  was  comparatively  a  small 
number.  Even  the  forms  of  worship  were  in  Latin, 
which  was  not  understood  by  a  large  proportion  of 
the  priests  themselves,  who  officiated  in  the  churches. 
It  is  easily  to  be  understood  how  little  popular 
religious  knowledge  could  be  derived  from  published 
dissertations,  or  from  preaching.  The  former  were 
locked  up  in  a  language  not  understood  by  the 
commonalty  ;  so  also  preaching,  whenever  there  was 
any  display  of  learning  ;  and  whatever  there  was  in 
the  vernacular,  was,  for  the  most  part,  limited  to 
traditions -of  the  Church,  to  laudation  of  saints,  and 
exhortations  to  penance,  confession,  and  the  like. 
In  fact,  during  the  period  above  mentioned,  preach- 
ing can  hardly  be  reckoned  among  the  instrumen- 
talities of  religious  knowledge.  It  was,  indeed,  the 
aim  of  the  clergy  to  maintain  their  own  personal 
dignity  by  inspiring  a  superstitious  avre  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.  It  would  have  been  subver- 
sive of  the  whole  papal  fabric  to  impart  a  true 
knowledge  of  Scriptural  doctrine. 


130         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUmiES. 

The  Keformation  in  the  sixteenth  century  swept 
away  a  vast  amount  of  superstition,  and  opened 
sources  of  knowledge  till  then  never  enjoyed  in  any 
Christian  community.  The  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  into  the  spoken  languages  of  several 
countries,  and  the  multiplication  of  copies  by  aid 
of  printing,  would,  alone,  have  made  an  epoch  in  the 
progress  of  popular  religious  knowledge.  But  in 
addition  to  this,  many  of  the  most  eminent  Keform- 
ers  sought,  by  clear  and  practical  commentaries,  to 
make  Scriptural  doctrine  intelligible  to  all  classes 
of  men.  The  general  character  of  the  preaching, 
too,  at  that  period,  had  an  unction  of  fervid  piety 
which  moved  the  consciences  of  men,  and  induced 
profound  questioning  within  themselves.  This  was 
the  basis  of  the  self-sustaining  religious  character 
which  then  was  first  developed,  and  has  since  be- 
come established  in  the  more  favored  parts  of  Prot- 
estant Europe  —  a  phase  of  character  not  limited 
to  the  learned  or  high-born,  but,  perhaps,  even  in 
a  greater  degree  exhibited  by  the  humbler  class  of 
society,  and  which  is  prophetic  of  the  perpetuity  of 
the  change  thus  inaugurated,  and  of  its  advance  to 
a  more  complete  consummation. 

While,  however,  evangelical  truth  was  thus  rous- 
ing the  popular  mind  from  its  degradation  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  the  immeasurable  benefits  which  natu- 
rally flow  from  the  Christian  dispensation,  when 
rightly  understood,  a  system  of  Theology  contempo- 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUmiES.         131 

raneously  grew  out  of  the  discussions  of  learned 
men,  which  discussions  were  at  first  a  necessity  in- 
volved in  the  resistance  and  exposure  of  fearful 
heresies,  and  then  continued  for  the  settlement  of 
diverse  opinions  among  the  Eeformers  themselves. 
These  were  naturally  followed  by  Confessions  of 
Faith  in  the  different  churches,  conforming  with  the 
views  of  one  or  other  of  the  great  Theologians  whom 
they  respectively  adhered  to. 

The  utility  of  these  discussions,  or  of  the  formal 
declaration  of  doctrinal  belief,  whether  by  creeds  or 
catechisms,  I  do  not  mean  to  question.  It  doubt- 
less was  necessary,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an 
end  of  controversy,  that  the  questions  in  debate 
should  be  in  some  way  resolved,  and  that  those  who 
could  not  agree  should  separate  and  form  distinct 
organizations.  Two  remarks  will,  however,  I  think, 
be  found  applicable  to  the  doctrinal  phase  of  Chris- 
tianity in  this  modern  development. 

1st.  In  the  violence  of  spirit  with  which  the  con- 
troversies upon  doctrines  were  often  pursued  by  the 
differing  sects,  there  was  an  absence  of  that  primary 
element  of  the  Christian  faith,  in  comparison  with 
which  all  doctrines  were  secondary,  viz.,  the  Charity 
which  "  beareth  all  things.''  How  strongly  is  the 
imperfection  of  our  nature  illustrated  when  we  see 
Luther  maintaining  the  real  presence  of  Christ  in 
the  Eucharist,  with  a  fierce  intolerance  of  the  opin- 
ion of  Zuingle,  that  the  bread  and  wine  were  mere 

6* 


182  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

symbols.  And  so  in  succeeding  times,  the  contro- 
versies of  Christian  sects  have  given  occasion  to 
their  common  enemies,  the  Papist  and  Infidel,  to 
denounce  their  faith  as  having  no'  bond  of  attach- 
ment, but  rather  as  productive  only  of  rancorous 
contention. 

2d.  Though  there  is  occasion  for  rigid  exactness 
of  phraseology,  and  even  of  metaphysical  precision, 
in  expressing  doctrines  which  have  been  the  subject 
of  controversy,  yet  it  is  not  the  language  properly 
adapted  to  convey  the  information  required  for  gene- 
ral religious  instruction  ;  and  especially  is  it  inap- 
propriate to  the  juvenile  mind,  which  needs  culture 
rather  of  devout  emotion  than  of  intellectual  sub- 
tlety in  detecting  error.  The  formulary,  indeed, 
will  still  have  its  use  for  reference  when  any  ques- 
tion shall  be  raised  ;  but  the  knowledge  essential 
for  the  daily  conduct  of  life  is  far  other  than  this. 
It  is  a  perverse  inclination  rather  than  any  want  of 
scholastic  acumen  that  is  usually  chargeable  with 
any  errors  of  doctrine  having  much  practical  bear- 
ing upon  the  Christian  character.  I  have  long  been 
of  opinion  that  the  Westminster  Catechism,  and 
other  similar  compilations,  are  not  well  adapted  to 
youthful  or  uneducated  minds,  for  the  purpose  of 
imparting  elementary  religious  knowledge.  The 
mode  peculiar  to  these  manuals  is,  indeed,  wholly 
diverse  from  that  which  is  found  in  the  Scriptures 
themselves,  and  has  the  aspect  of  a  complicated  sys- 


ETHICAL    AND    rilYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         133 

tern  of  doctrine,  in  which  the  abstruse  and  unintelli- 
gible hold  the  most  prominent  place,  because  these 
being  most  subject  to  learned  controversy,  must  be 
most  artificially  explained,  rather  than  as  a  clear 
and  comprehensible  exposition  of  what  every  man 
ought  to  know,  and  is  capable  of  understanding. 

With  these  general  remarks  I  pass  to  the  consid- 
eration of  Dogmatic  Theology,  as  taught  by  Profes- 
sors and  learned  writers  within  the  last  century.  It 
doubtless  is  essential  that  Ministers,  who  are  to  be 
the  spiritual  advisers  of  many  men  that  have  little 
time  or  facility  for  extended  investigation,  should 
be  prepared  to  resolve  all  difficulties  which  may  oc- 
cur in  respect  to  doctrine,  and  this  will  require 
greater  erudition  and  more  profound  thought  than 
might  be  supposed.  The  uneducated  man,  if  he 
have  an  inquiring  mind,  will  be  as  likely  as  one 
more  educated  to  meet  with  doubts  ;  in  fact  skepti- 
cal opinions  belong  rather  to  the  rude  and  worldly 
mind  than  to  one  accustomed  to  recondite  reading. 
The  latter,  however,  has  his  peculiar  doubts,  but 
they  will  generally  relate  to  matters  more  remote — 
perhaps  some  speculative  difficulty  as  to  doctrine. 
All  these  a  Minister  should  be  competent  to  meet, 
and  to  give  a  satisfactory  solution,  or  at  all  events, 
defend  the  right  against  any  one  who  should  per- 
sistently oppose  it.  This  furnishes  sufficient  occa- 
sion for  all  Ihe  theological  instruction  that  is  im^ 
parted  in  the  schools,  at  least  so  far  as  it  bears  upon 


131         ETHICAL    AND    PJIYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

all  serious  subjects  of  controversy.  It  does  not  fol- 
low, however,  that  a  Minister  is  therefore  to  under- 
take to  make  all  his  people  Theologians.  The  dif- 
ficulties I  have  referred  to  will  arise  in  a  compara- 
tively few  instances,  and  they  will  be  best  disposed 
of  when  they  actually  occur.  It  would  avail  but 
little  to  preach  a  consecutive  course  of  systematic 
divinity  for  the  sake  of  forestalling  all  doubts  which 
might  by  possibility  occur  to  any  of  his  people.  His 
arguments  would  be  little  heeded  except  when  im- 
mediately applicable  to  some  existing  case. 

It  has  been  the  custom  of  the  Scottish  and  Amer- 
ican clergy  to  deliver  elaborate  doctrinal  discus- 
sions from  the  pulpit — more  so  formerly  than  now  ; 
a  change  has  been  induced  by  the  increased  activity 
of  life,  and  the  necessity  of  bringing  religion  to  bear 
upon  the  varying  phases  of  society,  the  stringent 
pressure  of  private  business,  and  the  startling  inci- 
dents of  public  affairs.  The  efficiency  of  that  mode 
of  preaching,  as  a  practical  instrumentality  of  reli- 
gion, even  when  there  was  less  agitation  of  mind 
with  the  pursuits  of  worldly  ambition,  and  a  more 
stern  estimate  of  the  value  of  orthodox  doctrine, 
may  admit  of  doubt.  The  aged  Christian  or  some 
strong  thinker  naight  find  satisfaction  in  abstruse 
theology  ;  the  light^mindecj  of  every  age,  but  more 
especially  the  young,  would  heed  but  little  the  un- 
congenial discussion. 

Austere  discipline  in  the  household  may  insure 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES.         135 

the  observance  of  all  the  forms  of  a  religious  life, 
without  developing  a  voluntary  and  vital  piety. 
The  catechism  may  be  made  familiar  as  the  spelling- 
book,  and  yet  not  elicit  the  reverent  and  deep  emo- 
tion which  evangelical  truth,  conveyed  with  judg- 
ment and  affection,  is  calculated  to  foster. 

So,  in  the  Church,  strict  orthodoxy  may  be  main- 
tained, and  yet  a  vitalizing  power  be  wanting.  Was 
not  the  Scottish  Church  orthodox  in  1843,  but  had 
not  practical  religion  so  far  died  out  that  the  old 
organization  was  abandoned  by  a  large  body  of  the 
people  as  having  lost  all  efficiency  for  the  spiritual 
advantage  of  its  members  ? 

Again,  did  not  the  austere  orthodoxy  of  New- 
England  resolve  itself,  to  a  great  extent,  into  anti- 
thetical Unitarianism  ? — a  trajisition  which  I  have 
the  charity  to  believe  was  the  result  of  a  sincere 
though  misdirected  effort  to  find  some  other  element 
in  religion  than  intellectual  theology. 

A  single  other  remark  will  include  all  I  have  to 
say  upon  this  topic.  While  scholastic  divinity  was  re- 
produced in  the  pulpit,  the  relation  of  the  minister 
to  his  people  involved  something  of  the  superstitious 
respect  which  had  in  former  ages  been  conceded  to 
priests  by  an  ignorant  multitude.  The  reason  was, 
that  although  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  had 
become  more  generally  diffused  than  in  any  pre- 
ceding time,  yet  the  abstract  doctrines  which  chiefly 
constituted  the  themes  of  discourse  were  too  far  re- 


130  ETHICAL    AND    J'lIYSlOLOGlOAL    INQUIRIES. 

moved  from  popular  apprehension,^and  required  too 
much  of  artificial  reasoning  and  recondite  learning 
to  admit  of  being  introduced  into  familiar  conver- 
sation ;  or  if  colloquial  discussion  occurred,  it  was . 
upon  unequal  terms.  The  minister  was  to  the  peo- 
ple as  an  oracle.  The  effect  was  two-fold,  viz.,  to 
induce  spiritual  pride  in  the  former,  and  to  repress 
free  religious  inquiry  by  the  latter.  I  speak,  of 
course,  only  of  the  general  result  of  the  system,  when 
carried  out -fully  according  to  its  natural  tendency. 
Many  exceptions  to  the  rule  there  were,  no  doubt. 

But  in  our  own  time,  the  office  of  the  minister 
has  become  essentially  different  from  what  it  was. 
The  activities  of  life  have  so  far  increased  as  to  call 
for  direction  or  restraint  by  some  other  force  than 
abstract  doctrine.  Practical  questions  are  con- 
stantly arising  which  must  be  resolved  by  the  appli- 
cation of  principles  which  have  heretofore  had  too 
little  development ;  and  these  must  be  illustrated 
by  purity  of  life — by  renunciation  of  the  vain  ob- 
jects of  worldly  ambition — by  an  unaffected  earnest- 
ness rightly  to  direct  the  weak  and  erring,  and  by  a 
tender  sympathy  with  all  who  suffer,  especially  the 
poor  and  friendless.  It  may  be  exacting  too  much 
of  the  imperfection  of  our  nature  to  expect  these 
divine  qualities  unalloyed  in  any  one,  nor  would  it 
be  just  to  prescribe  this  exemplification  of  the  Chris- 
tian character  to  the  pastor  only — the  same  rule 
applies  to  all ;  but  his  is  the  greater  responsibility 


ETHICAL    AND    niYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.       137 

who  has  the  larger  power  of  accomplishing  good  to 
others.  And  how  shall  he  who  undertakes  to  train, 
by  holy  discipline,  "  the  sacramental  host,"  fulfil 
that  office,  if  he  partake  not  of  the  self-sacrificing 
spirit  of  the  Master  whom  he  serves  ? 


WAE. 

ITS     IMMEDIATE     CONSEQUENCES     HOSTILE     TO     NA- 
TIONAL    PROSPERITY ULTIMATE     USES     IN     THE 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  LOVE    OF    COUNTRY,    RELIGIOUS 
FAITH,    AND    OTHER    KINDRED    VIRTUES. 


War  is  one  of  the  scourges  by  which  we  are  ter- 
ribly admonished  that  the  world  is  subject  to  a 
power  superior  to  our  own.  Human  passion  is,  in- 
deed, the  immediate  cause,  but  there  is  something 
in  the  outbreak  of  great  commotions  that  leads  us 
at  once  to  the  superstitious  credence  of  evil  spirits 
moving  the  hearts  of  men,  or  to  the  belief  of  a  mys- 
terious Providence,  by  which  desolation  and  disorder 
are  sometimes  allowed  for  purposes  we  may  not  now 
comprehend.  War,  Pestilence,  and  Famine,  are 
alike  in  this,  that  they  come  often  without  premo- 
nition, and  seem  to  have  no  discriminating  retribu- 
tion, inasmuch  as  the  whole  of  a"  community  are  in- 
volved in  suffering — the  weak  as  well  as  the  strong — 
the  pure-minded  and  pious  as  well  as  the  vicious 
and  profane. 

Yet  are  we  not  tlierefore  to  suppose  that  there  is 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         139 

no  moral  purpose  m  such  events.  Nothing  can  be 
more  certain  than  that  there  is  a  control  over  all  that 
occurs  in  human  affairs.  Mystery  there  is,  indeed, 
as  to  the  plan  by  which  that  control  is  directed  ; 
but  there  is  no  room  for  belief  that  anything  hap- 
pens by  chance,  when  we  observe  the  grand  conver- 
gencies  of  centuries  into  results,  which  in  their 
turn  become  new  forces  for  the  accomplishment  of 
other  and  greater  ends. 

I  think  the  true  religious  view  of  War  is,  that 
like  other  great  desolating  powers,  it  is  an  instru- 
mentality subject  to  the  great  moral  Providence  by 
which  the  world  is  regulated.  We  are  unable  to 
analyze  the  causes,  or  to  forecast  all  the  effects  ;  and 
it  would  be  presumptuous  to  suppose  that  it  can  be 
stayed  or  controlled  by  the  efficacy  of  weak  human 
prayer. 

It  is  my  belief,  that  for  reasons  now  unknown  to 
us,  a  probation,'  varying,  indeed,  in  its  forms,  but 
continually  renewed  in  ever-changing  phases,  is  ne- 
cessary for  educing  what  there  is  of  good  in  our  na- 
ture, and  repressing  the  evil.  . 

War  does,  indeed,  appear  to  be  an  unmitigated 
evil,  when  we  follow  out  all  its  oppressive  results  ; 
yet  is  there  also,  in  the  midst  of  the  lawlessness  and 
disorder — the  violence  and  vice — which  are  its  or- 
dinary incidents,  a  perpetual  admonition  to  seek 
repose  from  these  evils  in  something  more  mighty 
than  human  power. 


140         ETHICAL   AND    niYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

I  have  formerly  had  a  dread  of  war  as  the  great- 
est calamity  that  could  happen  to  our  peaceful  and 
prosperous  people,  and  have  shrunk  from  the  thought 
of  the  evils  incident  to  the  array  of  large  bodies  of 
armed  men,  even  if  it  should  be  for  defence  ;  much 
more  when  we  should  be  confronted  by  a  hostile  sol- 
diery. But  a  more  extended  reflection  has  brought 
the  belief  that  even  this  dreaded  desolation  is  not 
sent  upon  a  nation  without  some  counterbalancing 
agency  for  good.  The  bonds  of  national  affinity — 
of  private  friendship — of  a  brotherhood  of  all  who 
are  exposed  to  a  common  danger,  become  stronger ; 
and  noble  traits  of  character  are  generated,  which 
would  otherwise  have  been,  perhaps,  forever  latent. 
Such  are  some  of  the  moral  uses. 

In  a  religious  view,  there  is  even  a  greater  conse- 
quence. Although  at  first  we  look  upon  the  con- 
flict of  hostile  forces  as  wholly  originating  from  the 
passions  of  men,  and  the  result  as  depending  upo  n 
the  material  strength  of  the  belligerents,  yet  we 
learn  in  time  to  observe  an  overruling  Providence 
manifestly  displayed.  All  that  is  fearful  in  human 
strife  becomes  revealed  as  subordinate  to  the  same 
power  which  created  man,  and  endowed  him  with 
capacity  for  good  or  evil. 

The  greatest  military  people  of  antiquity  was  the 
most  religious.  Auguries  were  always  taken  before 
a  Roman  army  was  sent  into  the  field,  and  an  oath 
was  administered  to  every  soldier.     However  per- 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQULBIES.         141 

verted  may  have  been  their  notions  of  religion,  it  is 
apparent  that  the  grave,  reflective  mind,  which  was 
the  distinctive  character  of  the  Roman  people,  natu- 
rally refers  the  issue  of  human  events  to  a  Divine 
Power.  It  is  also  equally  true  that  a  devout  or  re- 
verential feeling  toward  a  Superior  Being,  who  has 
authority  over  all  human  forces,  is  itself  a  source  of 
greatness  in  either  an  individual  or  a  nation. 

The  martial  enthusiasm  of  the  Saracens  was  de- 
rived from  their  religious  faith,  which,  though  fan- 
tastical and  puerile  as  a  system  of  doctrines,  had 
yet  this  one  redeeming  element,  viz.,  the  belief  that 
all  events  are  directed  by  God. 

The  Crusaders,  in  their  turn,  were  inspired  by 
a  zeal  which  wrought  out  a  higher  degree  of  heroism 
than  had  ever  before  been  exhibited  in  military  an- 
nals, and  great  as  were  the  destruction  of  life  and  the 
oppressive  burdens  imposed  upon  the  people  by  the 
vast  armaments  which  went  out  from  Europe,  there 
was,  on  the  whole,  more  than  an  equivalent  in  the 
general  effect  upon  civilization.  A  great  advance  in 
manly  virtues^  the  softening  of  the  hostile  feeling  pre- 
viously existing  between  European  states,  the  intro- 
duction of  a  more  honorable  mode  of  warfare  ;  in 
short,  a  change  fr<^  a  semi-barbarous  condition  to 
the  modern  forms  of  civilization,  which  are  far  in 
advance  of  whatever  had  been  seen  in  any  of  the 
ancient  nationalities.  Such  were  some  of  the  re- 
sults inaugurated  by  these  holy  wars. 


142         ETHICAL    AND    niYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

It  is  a  remarkable  incident  of  modern  warfare 
that  although  larger  armies  are  brought  into  com- 
bat, the  loss  of  life  is  on  the  whole  less  in  propor- 
tion to  the  numbers  engaged  than  in  ancient  bat- 
tles. This  arises  from  a  greater  humanity  to  the 
vanquished.  The  Athenian  army,  taken  at  ^gos- 
Potamos,  were  all  deliberately  put  to  death  by  Ly- 
sander.  The  Macedonian  army,  that  was  defeated 
by  Paulus  iEmilius,  was  annihilated.  It  is  related 
that  25,000  were  slaughtered,  while  of  the  Komans 
there  fell  less  than  one  hundred,  showing  that  there 
must  have  been  a  massacre  after  the  battle  was  de- 
cided. 

Julius  Ca3sar,  in  a  single  battle  with  the  Ger- 
mans, under  Ariovistus,  slew  80,000  of  them,  and, 
in  a  campaign  against  two  other  tribes,  destroyed, 
according  to  his  own  account,  400,000. 

In  striking  contrast  with  such  barbarity  is  the 
usage  which  now  prevails  among  civilized  nations, 
of  taking  prisoners  all  who  cease  to  resist,  and  either 
exchanging  them  during  the  war  or  delivering  them 
up  after  its  termination. 

When  Hannibal,  after  eight  months'  siege,  was 
about  to  make  the  final  assault  upon  Saguntum, 
all  that  he  would  concede,  as  terms  of  capitulation, 
was  that  the  inhabitants  might  emigrate  to  some 
other  place,  leaving  all  their  property ;  this  not 
being  accepted,  the  whole  population  was  destroyed 
by  the  Carthaginians,  or  perished  by  self-immola- 
tion. 


ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    IKQUIRIES.         143 

Equal  atrocity  was  perpetrated  by  tl\e  Romans 
on  the  taking  of  Capua  in  the  second  Punic  war. 
Of  the  nobler  class,  a  great  part  was  massacred  ; 
the  residue  of  the  people  were  doomed  to  slavery. 

In  the  wars  between  the  Greek  republics,  utter 
extermination  or  slavery  was  the  usual  fate  of  the 
vanquished  people. 

On  the  other  hand,  modern  civilization  has  intro- 
duced usages  of  humanity.  A  law  of  nations  is 
recognized,  the  violation  of  which  in  respect  to  one 
is  deemed  an  affront  to  all  civilized  states,  and  sooner 
or  later,  retribution  is  enforced  against  the  offending 
government.  The  civil  rights  of  a  people  subju- 
gated by  arms  are  usually  not  interfered  with  fur- 
ther than  that  the  allegiance  of  the  conquered  peo- 
ple is  transferred  to  the  victorious  power.  There 
may  be  oppression  in  the  exaction  of  revenue,  or 
in  military  conscription,  but  the  laws  regulating 
private  property,  are  for  the  most  part  unchanged. 
War  assessments  are  sometimes  made  upon  opulent 
cities,  when  taken  possession  of  by  an  enemy  ;  but 
even  this  is  now  generally  held  to  be  an  exercise  of 
military  power  hardly  to  be  justified,  though  it  may 
still  continue  to  be  practised.  When  a  town  is 
taken  by  assault,  the  old  barbarity  still  prevails. 
No  degree  of  discipline  seems  to  be  adequate  to  pre- 
vent rapine  and  violence. 

It  is  a  singular  antithesis  in  modern  warfare  that 
a  flying  enemy  is  pursued  and  slaughtered,  while. 


144:       ETHICAL   AND   rHYSIOLOGlCAL   INQUIRIES. 

after  the  combat  has  ceased,  the  wounded  belong- 
ing to  the  vanquished,  including  as  well  those  who 
have  been  stricken  down  in  equal  fight  as  those  who 
have  fallen  without  resistance  in  the  rout,  are  at- 
tended to  with  the  same  care  as  the  wounded  of  the 
victorious  army. 

It  is  related  that  the  English  cavalry,  after  the 
victory  at  the  Alma  (in  the  Crimean  war),  pursued 
the  flying  Eussians,  who  had  thrown  away  their 
arms  for  greater  facility  of  retreat,  and  killed  or 
mutilated  the  wretched  fugitives — in  the  language 
of  one  of  the  officers,  giving  an  account  of  the  battle, 
^'  making  heads  and  arms  fly  in  the  air."  Yet,  when 
the  carnage  had  ceased,  the  vast  host  of  suffering 
victims,  friends  and  foes,  were  gathered  up  and 
transported  to  hospitals,  a  part  of  the  Eussians 
being  sent  to  their  own  hospital  at  Odessa,  with  the 
understanding  that  they  were  to  be  deemed  non- 
combatants  until  regularly  exchanged. 


SEMINARIES  OF  LEABKIKG— 
EDUCATION  OF  YOUTH. 


It  is  an  interesting  inquiry  how  far  tlie  studies 
prescribed  in  the  education  of  children  and  youth 
have  aifected  the  development  of  individual  charac- 
ter. It  might  be  supposed  that  the  course  pursued 
in  some  countries,  at  certain  periods,  was  calculated 
to  suppress  the  natural  elasticity  of  mind,  and  pre- 
vent its  growth.  Yet  it  will  generally  be  seen  that 
early  education,  however  faulty,  has  still  produced 
much  the  same  result.  Two  reasons  may  be  assigned 
for  this':  1st.  The  years  devoted  to  study  are  those 
in  which  the  mind,  like  the  body,  is  expanding  into 
the  luxuriance  of  maturity,  and  by  its  own  natural 
accrescence,  enlarging  its  vigor  and  capacity. 

The  remark  of  Adam  Smith,  as  to  the  supposed 
benefit  derived  from  sending  young  men  abroad  to 
travel  (which  benefit  he  denied),  applies  in  some 
degree  to  the  advantages  which  are  in  like  manner 
attributed  to  the  discipline  of  the  school.  ''  A  young 
man,"  he  says,  ^^  who  goes  abroad  at  seventeen  or 
eighteen,  and  returns  home  at  twenty-one,  returns 
three  or  four  years  older,  and  at  that  age  it  is  very 


146  ETHICAL  AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

difficult  not  to  improve  a  good  deal  in  that  period 
of  time."* 

2d.  The  larger  amount  of  knowledge,  and  of 
greatest  practical  value,  is  what  is  derived  from  mu- 
tual intercourse  of  men  with  each  other ;  the  young, 
especially,  have  an  advantage  from  coming  into  fa- 
miliar acquaintance  with  those  who  are  older,  and 
even  the  association  of  youth  together,  tends  to 
awaken  observation  and  elicit  thought. 

I  doubt  if  what  is  acquired  from  books,  in  semi- 
naries of  learning,  is  comparable  in  utility  with  the 
discipline  derived  from  the  co-aptation  and  mutual 
incitements  of  minds  acting  upon  each  other.  This 
is,  of  course,  with  the  reservation  that  corrupting 
influences  are  avoided,  and  these  are  many  and  per- 
ilous. 

The  education  of  the  Athenian  youth  is  com- 
monly said  to  have  been  limited  to  Gymnastics  and 
Music.  The  latter  term  has  been  understood  lite- 
rally by  many  writers,  but  it,  in  fact,  included 
Poetry,  Oratory,  and  even  History  ;  and  we  know 
that  in  the  time  of  Plato,  Geometry  was  an  ele- 


*  Smith's  "  Wealth  of  Nation?,"  b.  5,  c  1. 

Mr,  Jeflferson  etrongly  condemned  the  practice  of  sending  young  men  from  this 
country  to  Euroiie  for  an  education.  lie  wrote  from  Paris,  in  17S5,  "An  American 
coming  to  Europe  for  an  education,  loses  in  his  IcnoAvledgo,  in  his  morals,  health, 
and  happiness.  *  *  Who  are  the  men  of  most  learning,  of  most  eloquence, 
most  beloved  by  their  countrymen,  and  most  trusted  and  promoted  by  them  ? 
They  are  those  who  have  been  educated  among  them,  and  whose  manners,  morals, 
and  habits,  are  homogeneous  with  those  of  the  country." — Randall's  "Life  of 
Jefferson,"  v.  1,  p.  434. 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUlRIES.         147 

mentary  part  of  education,  as  may  be  inferred  from 
the  inscription  on  his  door/* 

Yet  there  was,  in  the  use  of  this  term,  something 
indicative  of  great  attention  given  by  the  Greeks  to 
harmony  of  sound.  Poets,  Historians,  and  Orators, 
read  their  compositions  in  public.  How  much  the 
pleasure  of  the  ear  was  consulted,  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  there  was  a  sort  of  rhythm  even 
in  prose,  and  the  Greek  taste  in  this  respect  was 
adopted  by  the  Komans.  Thus,  in  Cicero's  criti- 
cism upon  the  Greek  historians,  the  construction  of 
sentences  is  much  more  insisted  upon  than  the  merit 
of  the  narrative.  Herodotus  (to  whom  he  gives  the 
first  place)  he  praises  for  eloquence  ("  tanta  est 
eloquentia  ut  me  quidem  magnopere  delectet"), 
next  to  him  Thucydides  is  lauded  for  his  condensed 
and  vigorous  expression  (''qui  ita  ereber  est  rerum 
frequentia  ut  verborum  prope  numerum  sententia- 
rum  numero  consequatur'^)\ 

The  Universities  of  Modern  Europe  took  their 
present  form  in  the  12th  century.  They  were  ori- 
ginally Tlieological  schools.  The  name  is  probably 
derived  from  the  Latin  Universitas,  a  legal  commu- 
nity or  corporation,  and  not,  as  has  been  sometimes 
suggested,  because  all  sciences  were  taught  in  them. 
Civil  law  was  taught  at  Bologna  and  Paris,  and  to 
some  extent  in  England,  but  constituted  a  merely 

*  Ov6ei<T  ayecofikipiKos  eiS'ilcj. 
Let  no  one  enter  who  knows  not  Geometry. 
■  ~  t  "  De  Orat.,"  ii.  13. 

7 


14:8         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

collateral  department  at  Cambridge,  Oxford,  and 
Paris.  The  Inns  of  Court  in  London,  established 
in  the  14th  century,  superseded  lectures  upon  law 
at  the  English  Universities.  Latin  was  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Church,  and  therefore  was  exclusively 
taught  in  the  schools  ;  during  several  centuries  after 
the  establishment  of  universities  in  the  principal 
countries  of  Europe,  no  attention  was  given  in  pub- 
lic teaching  to  the  vernacular  tongue  of  either  of 
those  countries.  The  services  of  religion  were  all 
in  Latin  ;  but  those  services  were  limited  to  the 
forms  contained  in  the  Missal.  Preaching,  so  far 
as  there  was  any,  was  addressed  to  the  educated 
class,  and  was  a  mere  patchwork  from  the  scholas- 
tic philosophy.  What  exception  there  may  have 
been  was  of  a  very  humble  character.  The  Mendi- 
cant Orders  of  Monks,  who  became  the  popular 
preachers  in  the  13th  century,  used  the  ordinary 
language  of  the  people,  but  their  preaching  was 
mostly  confined  to  the  puerile  traditions  concerning 
Saints,  and  other  superstitions  of  the  Koman  church. 
The  Theology  of  the  schools  had  very  little  that 
was  adapted  to  the  instruction  of  the  uneducated. 
It  was,  in  fact,  made  up  of  subtil  ties  remote  from 
any  bearing  upon  common  life  ;  and,  as  we  should 
judge,  was  equally  profitless  for  the  proper  develop- 
ment of  the  youthful  mind  that  was  brought  under 
its  discipline  in  the  seminaries  of  learning.  Yet  it 
constituted  nearly  all  that  was  taught  from  the  time 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    LNQUIEIE8.         149 

of  Abelard  till  the  Keformation  in  tlie  16tli  cen- 
tury. 

Judging  from  the  vast  numbers  of  students  that 
attended  at  the  English  Universities  and  at  Paris, 
it  would  be  inferred  that  there  was  no  lack  of  ardor 
in  the  pursuit  of  the  jejune  dialectics  which  consti- 
tuted nearly  all  that  was  obtained  from  a  University 
education. 

The  Keformation  opened  new  phases  of  thought. 
The  Greek  language  was  studied — the  Scriptures 
were  translated  into  several  of  the  vernacular  dia- 
lects of  Europe,  and  preaching  was  addressed  to  the 
common  people  in  a  language  intelligible  to  them. 

Still,  in  the  seminaries  of  learning,  the  old  philos- 
ophy continued  to  be  taught.  The  great  change 
that  took  place  was  in  the  popular  mode  of  explain- 
ing the  Scriptures,  which  originated  not  with  learned 
professors,  but  with  pious  minds,  which  had  become 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  principles  illustrated 
by  our  Saviour. 

Passing  from  that  epoch  to  about  the  middle  of 
the  18th  century,  we  find  in  all  the  celebrated  uni- 
versities of  Europe  a  largely  disproportionate  atten- 
tion to  the  ancient  classics.  This  may,  indeed,  be 
said  still  to  continue  in  some  of  them,  especially 
the  English. 

But  within  the  last  century  physical  science  has 
become  developed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  constitute 
a  department  of  knowledge  requiring  an  undivided 


150         ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQXJiEIEg. 

pursuit  in  order  to  become  thoroughly  master  of  it. 
Chemistry  and  Greology  have  been  created  within 
that  period  ;  Human  Physiology  has,  for  the  first 
time,  been  properly  elucidated,  and  even  Astronomy, 
which  had  been  earlier  brought  into  mathematical 
precision  by  Copernicus  and  Newton,  had  not,  tiU  a  re- 
cent period,  been  reduced  to  popular  comprehension. 

Since  all  these  changes  have  been  accomplished, 
it  becomes  an  interesting  inquiry  how  far  the  sys- 
tem of  education  has  undergone  a  corresponding 
modification. 

I  shall  limit  myself  to  one  observation.  Popu- 
lar education  has  been  transferred  from  the  ancient 
seminaries  to  institutions  of  a  later  origin  having  a 
more  direct  and  practical  relation  to  the  business  of 
life.  The  universities,  it  is  true,  are  largely  at- 
tended, but  the  greater  proportion  of  those  who  re- 
ceive what  may  be  called  a  liberal  education,  that  is 
something  more  than  merely  the  primary  rudiments 
of  knowledge,  have  not  been  inmates  of  a  univer- 
sity. Public  schools  in  England  and  on  the  conti- 
nent, furnish  the  means  of  education  more  to  the 
advantage  of  those  who  are  not  destined  to  a  learned 
profession,  than  they  would,  perhaps,  obtain  at  a 
university — at  all  events,  more  cheaply.  In  respect 
to  one  of  the  professions,  viz..  Medicine,  it  has  be- 
come the  more  common  method  to  pursue  only  those 
branches  of  science  which  are  strictly  connected 
with  it. 


ETHICAL    ANT)   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQriRIES.  151 

The  American  colleges  differ  in  some  important 
particulars  from  European  universities.  Althougli 
there  is  a  course  of  studies  prescribed  as  the  condi- 
tion of  bestowing  a  literary  degree,  yet  there  is  a 
fair  intermixture  of  all  branches  of  knowledge  which 
may  be  useful  in  any  pursuit,  and  more  especially 
of  natural  science.  The  ancient  classics  have  by 
no  means  the  same  amount  of  attention  that  is  allot- 
ted to  them  in  the  English  universities.  It  has,  in- 
deed, become  a  popular  theory  in  this  country,  that 
education  consists  merely  in  imparting  practical 
knowledge.  In  one  sense,  this  is,  doubtless,  well 
founded,  viz.,  that  the  object  of  education  is  to  pre- 
pare the  mind  for  the  business  of  life,  whatever  that 
may  be.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  mere  ac- 
quaintance with  facts,  whether  in  physical,  politi- 
cal, or  moral  science,  does  not  furnish  all  that  is 
needed.  There  must  be  a  habit  of  just  reasoning 
upon  those  facts,  and  more  practical  wisdom  is 
educed  from  careful  collation  of  what  is  observed, 
even  within  a  narrow  range,  with  reference  to  results 
in  common  life,  than  would  in  general  be  elaborated 
from  research,  however  far  extended,  that  should 
not  be  subjected  to  any  such  test. 


SEASON    AND    FAITH. 


Pascal's  doctrine  was,  substantially,  that  rea- 
son was  insufficient  of  itself  to  inform  us  of  divine 
truth,  because  our  nature  is  corrupted,  and  while  it 
remains  so,  is  unimpressible  by  any  exhibition  of 
the  true  character  of  God,  or  of  our  want  of  con- 
formity to  his  law.  The  remedy  for  this  is  only  by 
a  change  of  heart.  When  this  takes  place,  the 
system  of  evangelical  truth  becomes  at  once  clear 
and  consistent.  As  to  the  method  of  accomplish- 
ing this  result,  there  is  an  obscurity  of  explanation 
which  strikingly  illustrates  the  tenacity  with  which 
Pascal  adhered  to  some  of  the  errors  of  the  Church 
in  which  he  was  brought  up.  The  following  ex- 
tract will  suffice  as  proof  of  this  remark  : 

"  Try,  then,  to  convince  yourself,  not  by  the  aug- 
mentation of  proofs,  of  the  existence  of  God,  but  by 
the  diminution  of  your  own  passions.  You  would 
have  recourse  to  faith,  but  you  know  not  the  way  ; 
you  wish  to  be  cured  of  infidelity,  and  you  ask  for 
the  remedy.  Learn  it  from  those  who  have  been 
bound  like  yourself,  and  who  would  wager  now  all 
their  goods — these  know  the  road  that  you  wish  to 
follow,  and  are  cured  of  a  disease  that  you  wish  to 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        153 

be  cured  of.  Follow  their  course,  then,  from  its 
beginning — it  consisted  in  doing  all  things  as  if 
they  believed  in  them  ;  in  using  holy  water  ;  in 
having  masses  said,  dtc.  Naturally  this  will  make 
you  believe  and  stupify  you  at  the  same  time."  * 

Perhaps  stultify  would  better  express  what  was 
meant,  according  to  what  St.  Paul  says,  "  If  any 
man  seemeth  to  be  wise,  let  him  become  a  fool." 
(1  Cor.  iii.  18.) 

Making  due  allowance  for  the  supposed  virtue  in 
holy  water,  and  the  like,  there  is  a  truth  of  some 
importance  involved.  Infidelity  grows  out  of  a  dis- 
inclination to  believe.  Wicked  propensity  is  gen- 
erally a  characteristic  of  a  scoffer  at  religion.  Asso- 
ciation with  a  profligate  society  may  have  the  effect 
of  undermining  the  principles  of  a  better  nature. 
A  general  laxity  of  morals  in  the  Church,  and 
especially  in  those  who  are  placed  over  it  for  instruc- 
tion of  the  members,  and  who  [should  illustrate 
their  profession  by  an  example  of  piety,  has,  un- 
doubtedly, had  an  unhappy  influence  upon  many 
minds  that,  under  more  auspicious  circumstances, 
would  have  gladly  received  the  truth  as  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures. 

On  the  other  hand,  whoever  has  a  natural  incli- 
nation to  devout  feeling,  or  in  other  words,  who  is 
conscious  of  a  want  of  a  higher  and  holier  principle 
than  anything  to  be  found  in  ordinary  human  im- 

•  Pascal's  Thoughts. 


154         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUERIES. 

pulse,  will  not  fail  to  find,  in  the  system  taught  by 
our  Saviour,  relief  from  all  perplexity.  The 
Christian  faith  to  such  a  soul  is  a  resolution  of  all 
doubt  and  a  satisfaction  of  all  that  it  seeks  for. 

Hence  the  German  theologian,  Schleiermacher, 
has  proposed  a  theory  of  the  essential  constituents 
of  evangelical  belief,  which  was  intended  to  avoid 
the  assaults  of  modern  criticism  upon  what  he 
deemed  external  and  not  intrinsic  in  our  faith. 
According  to  this,  we  find  the  evidence  of  a  divine 
power  when  we  are  conscious  of  a  sinful  state, 
and  obtain  relief  from  it  by  coming  into  commun- 
ion with  the  Church.  The  influence  by  which  this 
result  is  obtained,  is,  however,  not  attributable  to 
the  Church  itself,  that  is  to  ^ay,  the  members 
thereof,  because  in  each  of  them  there  is  imperfec- 
tion, but  we  must  go  back  to  the  first  source  from 
whence  comes  all  this  power,  that  is,  to  Christ  him- 
self This  establishes  fellowship  between  him  and 
every  true  believer.  Beyond  this  internal  con- 
sciousness, nothing  more,  is  absolutely  essential — 
the  miracles,  resurrection,  and  all  that  is  anticipa- 
ted of  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  are  not  to  be 
deemed  integral  parts  of  the  doctrine  upon  which 
salvation  depends. 

However  we  may  account  for  it,  I  think  it  may 
be  assumed  that  religious  belief  is,  in  general, 
founded  but  in  a  small  degree  upon  impartial  judg- 
ment.    Early  education  and  social  influence  deter- 


ETHICAL   AND   TUYSIOLOGIOAL    INQUIKIES.         155 

mine  the  faith  of  the  greater  part  of  mankind. 
Even  in  the  exceptional  cases,  as  when  under  the 
Koman  Catholic  regime,  its  doctrinal  errors  have 
been  rejected  and  its  immoral  practices  repudiated 
by  individuals,  it  will  be  found  that  some  counter- 
influence  was  brought  to  bear  which  was  more 
powerful  than  ordinary  association ;  a  few  instances 
may  still  remain,  but  they  are  rare,  in  which  a  can- 
did spirit  of  inquiry  has  attained  the  truth  against 
all  opposing  forces. 

Thus  it  may  be  stated,  as  the  general  rule,  that 
custom,  or,  in  other  words,  education  and  early 
habit,  pre-determine  a  man's  religious  creed.  Rea- 
son, which  in  this  connection  may  be  defined  to  be 
an  intellectual  judgment,  has  comparatively  little 
to  do  with  it. 

It  is  true,  that  this  early  education  may  not  in- 
sure a  genuine  faith  in  the  religion  taught,  nor  con- 
formity of  life  with  its  precepts.  It  is  my  convic- 
tion that  even  the  lowest  forms  of  Christian  doc- 
trine have  maintained  at  least  a  pretension  of  in- 
culcating a  moral  life.  The  Jesuit,  Escobar,  might 
furnish  excuses  for  the  ease  of  the  conscience  when 
there  was  great  proclivity  to  sin,  yet  evangelical 
purity  of  conduct  was,  even  in  Jesuitical  casuistry, 
admitted  as  honorable,  and  there  were  not  a  few  in- 
stances exemplifying  it  even  in  that  double-faced  sect. 

The  pure-minded  Pascal,  who  was  an  uncom- 
promising foe  of  Jesuitical  hypocrisy,  yet  remained 


156       ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

in  vassalage  to  the  Church  of  Kome,  and  admitted 
the  supreme  authority  of  the  Pope  over  the  con- 
sciences^ of  men.  How  is  this  to  be  accounted  for, 
except  upon  the  supposition  that  education  and 
usage  were  more  powerful  than  all  the  intellectual 
vigor  even  of  such  a  mind  as  Pascal's  ? 

The  argument  of  Butler  has  now  become  almost 
a  popular  aphorism,  viz.,  that  difficulties  incident 
to  our  pursuit  of  evangelical  truth  may  be  deemed 
a  probation — the  proof  being  such  as  will  not  ne- 
cessarily/orce  conviction  upon  any  mind,  and  yet 
are  sufficient  for  the  candid  and  earnest  inquirer 
A  curious  subject  of  speculation  is  opened  by  this 
hypothesis.  I  think  it  necessarily  results,  that  re- 
sponsibility must  correspond  with  natural  capacity 
and  circumstances  of  life.  A  fair  inquisition  for 
truth,  with  a  sincere  desire  to  attain  it,  is  all  that 
can  be  required.  But  there  must  be  something 
more  than  a  mere  intellectual  process,  by  which  I 
mean  purely  abstract  reasoning.  A  docile  temper 
of  mind,  a  willingness  to  receive  the  truth,  is  of  far 
greater  account. 

It  is  my  belief,  that  the  difficulties  which 
worldly  minds  are  most  apt  to  meet  with,  or  per- 
haps, I  should  say,  objections  which  they  profess  to 
be  embarrassed  by,  in  fact  arise  from  the  inherent 
aversion  of  such  minds  to  the  truth.  There  is  no 
real  desire  to  be  rightly  informed ;  doubts  are 
readily  entertained,  and  then  a  long  course  of  argu- 


ETHICAL   AJSTD   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         157 

ment  may  be  entered  upon  for  the  resolution  of  the 
objections,  whereas  they  would,  in  most  cases,  van- 
ish at  once  if  there  was  a  natural  docility  of  heart. 
In  general,  it  will  be  fDund,  that  skeptical  views  pre- 
vail only  with  such  persons  as  are,  by  inclination  of 
mind,  opposed  to  the  pure  principles  of  evangelical 
truth.  The  teachings  of  our  Saviour  are  at  once 
received  by  the  true-minded — by  really  devout 
and  humble  inquirers.  They  are  rejected  by  those 
who  desire  to  find  justification  for  the  pride  of  self- 
sufficiency,  or  for  an  immoral  life.  The  skeptic  is 
one  who  maintains  the  sufficiency  of  human  reason 
without  the  aid  of  revelation,  or  who  finds,  in  the 
enjoyments  of  this  world,  all  that  he  craves,  and  is 
averse  to  being  disturbed  by  any  admonition  of  his 
disregard  of  the  law  of  righteousness. 

An  unbeliever  has,  usually,  a  scoffing  spirit, 
whence  it  may  be  inferred  that  there  is  depravity. 
A  defiance  of  the  opinions  of  other  men,  is  not  a 
trait  of  the  wise  and  good.  In  the  few  instances 
where  decorum  has  been  observed  by  those  who  have 
rejected  the  Christian  faith,  there  will  still  be  ap- 
parent, upon  close  observation,  some  striking  de- 
fects of  character. 

It  may,  I  think,  be  deduced  from  these  observa- 
tions, that  unbelief  grows  out  of  a  natural  aversion 
to  religious  truth  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is  no  serious  difficulty  where  there  is  an  in-^ 
clination  of  the  heart  to  God.     The  general  princi^ 


158         T^HICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

pies  of  the  Christian  faith  have  nothing  repulsive 
to  a  mind  that  sincerely  desires  to  be  rightly  in- 
structed. As  to  more  recondite  doctrines,  there 
may  be  discrepancies  of  opinion  between  those 
who  are  equally  sincere  ;  but  the  larger  charity  of 
the  Christian  world,  at  the  present  day,'^allows  such 
differences  without  intolerance.  I  do  not  deem  the 
separation  into  sects  as  schismatic.  We  are  wiser 
than  Christians  were  at  an  earlier  period.  So  far 
as  there  is  conformity  of  belief  in  respect  to  matters 
fundamental,  there  should  be  a  feeling  of  brother- 
hood, and  whatever  of  differences  there  may  be  as 
to  other  points,  should  be  dealt  with  in  a  spirit  of 
mutual  tolerance  and  respect,  and  this,  if  I  do  not 
much  misjudge,  is  becoming  the  prevalent  feeling, 
so  as,  perhaps,  to  constitute  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  Church. 


THE    SUPERNATURAL. 

POPULAR  SUPERSTITIONS,  OMENS,  PREMONITIONS,  &C. 


BuSHNELL  has  brought  out  a  theory  which 
would  seem  to  reduce  what  has  heretofore  been 
deemed  to  belong  to  the  realm  of  mystery  into  a  mere 
ordinary  matter  of  fact ;  in  other  words,  has  brought 
the  supernatural  within  the  range  of  the  natural. 
This  theory  is  mainly  founded  upon  a  distinction 
between  things  and  poivers.  The  former  are  acted 
upon,  the  latter  generate  action.  In  the  class  of 
powers  is  placed  the  human  soul,  which  has  the 
capacity  of  originating  action,  whereby  material 
elements  are  acted  upon.* 

It  is  assumed,  as  an  important  principle  in  this 
theory,  that  the  Will  is  voluntary,  that  is  to  say,  is 
under  no  constraint  by  the  control  of  motive,  and,  on 
the  contrary,  may  act  against  the  strongest  motive. 
This,  however,  appears  to  me  a  mere  verbal  refine- 
ment. It  cannot  admit  of  question  that  the  will  is 
determined  by  something — its  action  is  not  casual 
or  merely  the  effect  of  chance,  for  that  supposition 
would  subvert  the  whole   basis  of  character,  and 

•  Nature  and  the  Supernatural. 


100         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

whether  the  action  be  brought  about  by  a  good 
reason  or  weak  one — whether  by  some  extrinsic 
power  or  by  some  intrinsic  proclivity — call  it  what 
you  will — there  is  still  an  influence  which  is  the  cause, 
and  this  is  what  is  called  motive.  A  mistake  has 
evidently  arisen  from  confounding  motive  with  rea- 
son. A  man  may  act  upon  what  others  would  judge 
a  weak  reason,  and  yet,  to  his  mind,  it  may  be  a 
strong  one,  whether  attributable  to  an  erratic  judg- 
ment, or  a  perverted  inclination. 

But,  passing  this,  we  are  led  by  the  general  propo- 
sition to  the  startling  fact,  that  the  soul  of  man  is, 
itself,  supernatural.  It  originates  power,  and  it  is 
connected  with  the  spiritual  and  unseen,  whence  it 
derives  an  independent  authority  over  the  grosser 
elements,  and  requires  individuality  of  thought  and 
action. 

The  mode  of  communication  with  the  spiritual 
world  is  not  explained,  bufc  Mr.  Bushnell  rather 
rashly  admits  that  the  demonstrations  of  rappings, 
table-movings,  and  the  like,  may  prove  the  presence 
of  spirits,  yet  that  from  the  nature  of  the  commu- 
nications made  by  them,  they  must  be  of  a  low- 
order,  perhaps  belong  to  the  genus  of  evil  spirits; 
he,  however,  more  sensibly  remarks,  that  whoever 
is,  by  disposition,  open  to  association,  indiscrimi- 
nately, with  all  sorts  of  spirits,  will,  undoubtedly, 
find  companionship  to  his  liking. 

I  have  not,  myself,  so  much  faith  in  that  phase 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIEIES.        161 

of  spiritual  communications.  Not  a  single  case  lias 
fallen  under  my  observation,  of  a  person  professing 
to  hav3  such  spiritual  gift,  who  had  any  other 
intellectual  superiority  ;  in  fact,  there  has  been, 
without  exception,  a  defect  in  this  respect,  what, 
in  common  phraseology,  would  be  called  a  want  of 
balance.  I  am  not  prepared  to  believe  that  the 
highest  function  of  the  soul,  viz.,  communication 
with  superior  intelligences,  is  most  largely  bestowed 
upon  those  who  have  not  ordinary  capacity  to  deal 
with  beings  of  their  own  order. 

But  the  subject  scarcely  deserves  grave  discus- 
sion. The  irony  of  Swift,  though  irreverent,  is 
perhaps,  appropriate.  I  cannot  help  thinking, 
there  was  some  basis  for  what  he  says  of  visionary 
devotion,  or,  more  properly,  the  pretension  to  it — 
that  it  is  generally  to  be  found  in  dilapidated 
earthly  tabernacles,  as  houses  are  said  to  be  haunted 
which  are  forsaken  and  have  gone  to  decay. 

It  is  a  different  question,  whether  there  may  not 
be  communications  to  a  soul  of  noble  endowments  ; 
whether  it  may  not  make  aerial  excursions  in  the 
slumber  of  the  body,  or  have  nocturnal  visions,  or 
whether  there  may  not  be  an  invisible  presence 
which,  by  a  voiceless  language,  communicates  to 
the  soul  suggestions  which  it  finds  impressed  with- 
out knowing  the  source. 

Popular  superstition  seems  to  have  been  tenacious 
of  the  belief  of   the  intervention  of  evil   spirits. 


162        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

as   expressed  by  some   of    our   poets.      Thus,   in 
Hamlet : 

"  The  spirit  I  have  seen 
May  be  a  devil,  and  the  devil  hath  power 
To  assume  a  pleasing  shape ;  yea,  and  perhaps 
Out  of  my  weakness  and  my  melancholy 
(As  he  is  very  potent  with  such  spirits) 
Abuse  me  to  damn  me." 

And  in  Childe  Harold  : 

"'Tis  solitude  must  teach  us  how  to  die, 
It  hath  no  flatterers — variety  can  give 
No  hollow  aid — alone  man  with  his  God  must  strive." 

"  Or  it  may  be  with  demons,  who  impair 
The  strength  of  better  thoughts  and  seek  their  prey 
In  melancholy  bosoms." 

As  to  premonitions,  or  supernatural  revelations 
of  future  events,  there  are  some  curious  traditional 
incidents  that  are  well  authenticated.  Thus  Lord 
Lyttleton,  the  younger  (I  mean  the  profligate  son 
of  the  worthy  and  accomplished  author  of  "  The 
Dialogues  of  the  Dead"  and  other  valuable  works) 
it  is  said  was  admonished  by  a  spectre,  supposed  to 
have  been  the  spirit  of  a  former  mistress,  who  had 
died  broken-hearted  in  consequence  of  his  abandon- 
ment of  her,  that  he  should  die  within  three  days. 
Hardened  as  he  was  in  vice,  the  admonition  was  a 
shock  which  he  could  not  rally  from,  and,  having 
communicated  the  subject  of  his  agitation,  his 
friends  gathered  about  him  on  the  night  that  he 
dreaded,  and,  by  way  of  precaution,,  having  put 
forward  the  clock  beyond  the  fated  hour,  he  went  to 


ETHICAL    AND    PnYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        163 

bed  somewhat  composed,  but  his  serving  man  hav- 
ing been  sent  out  on  some  slight  errand,  found,  on 
his  return,  that  his  lordship  was  dead,  holding  his 
watch  in  his  hand,  by  which  it  appeared  that  it  was 
not  yet  twelve. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  related  of  Cromwell,  that 
a  few  days  before  his  death  he  announced  to  his 
terror-stricken  family  that  he  had  been  informed, 
in  answer  to  prayer,  that  he  should  recover.  Such 
was  the  reliance,  by  all  his  attendants,  upon  the 
firm  will  and  mysterious  knowledge  of  the  Protector, 
that  the  chaplain,  in  his  prayer,  said  that  he  did 
not  ask  for  the  recovery  of  his  master,  as  that  had 
been  already  granted,  but  only  that  it  might  be 
speedy.  Yet  nine  days  after,  the  soul  which  had 
thought  itself  thus  favored  of  God  in  its  earthly 
aspirations,  forsook'  its  earthly  tenement  and  all 
its  grandeur,  to  enter  upon  that  great  future  which 
it  had  vainly  supposed  had  been  opened  to  its  finite 
understanding. 

Shakespeare  represents  Eomeo  as  having  a  pre- 
sentiment of  auspicious  fortune  on  the  morning  of 
the  day  in  which  he  was  to  hear  the  destruction  of 
all  his  happiness  : 

"  My  dreams  presage  some  joyful  news  at  hand, 
My  bosom's  lord  sits  lightly  on  his  throne, 
And  all  this  day  an  unaccustomed  spirit 
Lifts  me  above  the  earth  with  cheerful  thoughts." 

It  is  my  belief  that  such  omens,  of  which  there 


164         ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

is,  doubtless,  not  an  infrequent  experience,  are  not 
supernatural  suggestions,  but  rather  illusions  of  the 
natural  mind. 

There  is  another  sort  of  omen  which  is  of  greater 
account,  but  is  observed  more  by  others  than  by  the 
person  chiefly  affected.  Thus,  in  Scott's  "  Anne  of 
Geierstein,"  a  sudden  change  in  the  usual  habit  of 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  is  remarked  by  the  English 
Earl  of  Oxford,  as  portending  some  great  reverse  in 
his  fortune,  and  he  refers  to  a  superstition  he  had 
been  taught  in  early  years,  that  any  sudden  and 
causeless  changes  of  a  man's  nature,  as  from  license 
to  sobriety,  from  temperance  to  indulgence,  from 
avarice  to  extravagance,  from  prodigality  to  the  love 
of  money,  and  the  like,  indicates  some  great  altera- 
tion of  his  circumstances  for  good  or  evil  (and  for 
evil  most  likely,  as  we  live  in  an  evil  world)  im- 
pending over  him. 

I  have  often  had  occasion  to  observe  a  singular 
self-deception  in  the  minds  of  men  who  have  accom- 
plished any  great  success.  They  seem  to  feel  an 
independence  of  all  hostile  forces  in  proportion  as 
they  have  been  fortunate  in  overcoming  difficulties 
with  which  they  have  had  to  struggle.  Yet  how 
often  do  we  see  that  such  men,  in  the  very  acme  of 
their  self-complacency  and  security,  are  generally  in 
proximity  to  some  great  reverse  which  they  think 
not  of. 

Baxter  has  expressed  this,  in  a  religious  aspect  : 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         165 

"  It  hath  been  long  my  observation,  that  when  men 
have  attempted  great  works  and  have  just  finished 
them,  or  have  aimed  at  great  things  in  the  world 
and  have  just  obtained  them,  or  have  lived  in  much 
trouble  and  have  overcome  it,  and  begin  to  look  on 
their  condition  with  content,  and  rest  in  it,  they  are 
then  usually  near  to  death  or  ruin." 


FEAK    OF     DEATH— PHENOMENA 
OF    SUICIDE. 


Bacon  has  remarked,  that  he  did  not  believe  any- 
one feared  being  dead,  but  only  the  stroke  of  death. 
On  the  other  hand,  Shakespeare  represents  the  fear 
of  death  as  involving  far  more  than  the  mere  fact 
of  dying — 

"  Who  would  fardels  bear 
To  grunt  and  sweat  under  a  weary  life, 
But  that  the  dread  of  something  after  death — 
That  undiscovered  countrj^,  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveller  returns — puzzles  the  will." 

There  is  a  mystery  in  the  fear  which  aU  men  have 
of  death  while  they  are  in  health  ;  and  yet  how 
that  fear  is  overcome  as  we  draw  near,  in  the  course 
of  nature,  to  what  has  been  through  life  a  terror. 
The  weak  and  timid  woman  that  could  hardly  en- 
dure to  see  the  last  throe  of  the  dying,  or  to  look 
upon  the  body  from  which  life  had  fled,  will  at 
last,  meet  with  composure  the  enemy  she  so  much 
dreaded. 

Montaigne  has  noticed,  that  the  arguments  of 
philosophers  are  of  little  consequence  in  preparing 
us  for  death.     The  peasant  exhibits  as  much  courage 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   iNQtJIElES.        167 

and  endurance  as   one  who   has   studied   Seneca's 
Morals  or  the  Tusculan  Questions. 

To  suppose  that  the  external  circumstances  of 
death — the  groans,  the  convulsive  breathing,  the 
rolling  up  of  the  eyes,  or  the  going  out  of  life,  are 
all  that  awaken  our  apprehension,  would  be  assum- 
ing that  a  cheat  had  been  practised  upon  us,  as 
nurses  are  in  the  habit  of  terrifying  children  into 
good  behaviour  by  stories  of  ghosts  and  the  like. 

Again,  it  is  but  a  superficial  view  which  would 
divest  death  of  all  terror  because  it  is  fearlessly  en- 
countered in  the  heat  of  passion,  as  in  the  pursuit 
of  revenge,  or  under  some  strong  impulse,  as  mar- 
tial ardor  in  battle.  The  man  who  would  expose 
himself  to  the  peril  of  instant  death  for  a  vindic- 
tive purpose,  will,  in  his  solitary  reflection,  if  he 
have  escaped  from  the  danger,  be,  perhaps,  full 
of  superstitious  terror  ;  the  soldier  who  might,  in 
the  clamor  of  contending  foes,  rush  into  the  fight 
with  impetuous  daring,  will,  after  defeat  and  flight 
from  the  conflict,  be  terrified  by  the  apprehension 
of  the  enemy  coming  suddenly  upon  him. 

It  is  a  question  which  may  involve  a  good  deal 
of  speculation,  whether  the  fear  of  death  or  the 
love  of  life  is  the  dominant  feeling.  We  are  so 
much  under  the  influence  of  habit  that  we  naturally 
dread  any  sudden  change.  An  unexpected  reverse 
of  fortune  will  shake  the  strongest  spirit  ;  over- 
whelming  calamity,   whether   it   be   some   of   the 


168        ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

strange  revulsions  that  happen  sometimes  without 
a  known  cause,  or  by  the  aggression  of  pestilence, 
or  the  outbreak  of  war,  will  strike  terror  into  the 
most  self-reliant. 

When  we  look  at  the  change  wrought  by  death, 
we  inevitably  feel  a  revulsion  at  the  apparent  de- 
struction of  all  that  we  are  accustomed  to  consider 
as  constituting  hfe. 

The  materialism  of  the  Egyptian  and  the  Hebrew 
has  still  some  hold  of  the  human  mind,  even  in  our 
advanced  civilization.  The  mummies  of  Egypt  de- 
clare, better  than  any  historic  record,^the  popular 
belief  that  all  which  constituted  life  was  indissolubly 
connected  with  the  corporeal  frame.  To  this  we 
may  attribute  the  care  with  which  the  lifeless  body 
was  preserved  from  corruption,  by  inventive  art, 
whereby,  at  this  day,  we  have  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  those  swathed  forms  which  were  the  man- 
sions of  living  souls  some  thousands  of  years  since. 

The  prevalence  of  the  same  idea  in  the  Jewish 
mind  may  be  inferred  from  the  pictorial  language  of 
Isaiah,  who,  though  a  prophet,  was  obliged  to  ad- 
dress the  people  in  conformity  with  popular  opin- 
ions, and,  therefore,  spoke  of  the  dead  as  if  the  soul 
still  belonged  to  its  earthly  tenement  (see  Isaiah 
xiv.),  and  that  the  souls  of  those  who  had  lived  and 
whose  bodies  had  been  deposited  in  their  cemete- 
ries, still  had  a  sort  of  local  existence  in  these  habi- 
tations of  the  dead. 


ETHICAL   AKI)   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  169 

So  the  popular  mind,  even  in  our  day,  does  not 
realize  fully  the  existence  of  the  soul  separate  from 
the  body  with  which  it  has  been,  in  all  its  human 
existence,  connected.  There  is  a  general  supersti- 
tion, though  it  may  not  be  expressed,  that  the  in- 
animate body  has  still  some  sort  of  existence. 
There  is  a  feeling  of  repugnance  to  the  exposure  of 
the  unbreathing  form  to  the  cold  air,  with  only  a 
sheet  for  a  covering  ;  and  so  when,  with  funereal 
ceremony,  the  body  has  been  deposited  in  the  grave, 
how  natural  and  almost  universal  is  the  feeling  of 
sympathy,  as  if  it  had  still  sensation  and  might  be 
oppressed  by  the  shutting  out  of  air  and  warmth. 
Is  there  not  a  common  desire  to  seek,  as  a  resting- 
place  for  the  dead,  an  exposure  to  the  sun  and  the 
dry  soil  of  some  elevated  ground  .?* 

I  recently  had  occasion  to  observe  the  satisfaction 
which  a  poor  woman,  who  had  lost  a  husband  and 
afterward  a  child,  felt,  upon  the  opening  of  the  grave 
for  the  second  burial,  to  find  that  the  coffin  which 
contained  the  body  of  the  husband  was  entirely 
dry. 

The   feeling  of  revulsion  at  the  annihilation  of 


*  This  popular  feeling  was  expresaed  by  Cicero  in  the  Ta&culan  Questions  : 
"  Who  ia  there  that  does  not  lament  the  loss  of  friends,  principally  from  imagin- 
ing them  to  be  deprived  of  the  conveniences  of  life  ?  ♦  »  *  No  one  is  afflicted 
merely  on  account  of  a  loss  sustained  by  himself.  *  *  That  bitter  lamentation, 
those  mournful  tears,  have  their  origin  in  our  apprehensions  that  he  whom  we 
loved  is  deprived  of  all  the  advantages  of  life  and  is  sensible  of  his  loss." 


170         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQtJIElES. 

life  in  the  body,  has  been    expressed  by  Shake- 
speare— 

"  To  lie  in  cold  obstruction,  and  to  rot ; 
This  sensible,  warm  motion,  to  become 
A  kneaded  clod." 

Is  there  not  an  idea  that  the  intellectual  power 
which  has  been  expressed  in  the  bodily  organism,  is 
not  wholly  suspended  at  death,  as  represented  in 
the  melancholy  verses  of  Lord  Byron— 

"  The  under-earth  inhabitants,  are  they 
But  mingled  millions  decomposed  to  clay, 

*  *  *  » 

Or  do  they  in  their  silent  cities  dwell, 
Each  in  his  incommunicative  cell ; 
Or  have  they  their  own  language,  and  a  sense 
Of  breathless  being,  darkened  and  intense 
As  midnight  in  her  solitude — " 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  we  dread  any 
sudden  change.     The  changes  that  occur  in  life  are . 
sometimes  such  as  to  paralyze  the  firmest  minds. 
How  much  greater  is  the  transition  from  the  pres- 
ent existence  to  one  of  which  we  know  nothing. 

The  popular  mind,  even  in  this  age  of -Christian 
civilization,  except  so  far  as  it  has  been  enlightened 
by  divine  grace,  is,  perhaps,  little  in  advance  of 
what  it  was  when  there  was  no  intellectual  guide 
but  the  Greek  pliilosophy.  At  Athens  and  Rome 
there  was  no  settled  opinion  as  to  the  existence  of 
the  soul  after  death.  A  vague  belief  was,  indeed, 
entertained,  that  the  soul  passed  into  some  other 
form  of  life.     Plutarch  held  the  opinion  that  life 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        171 

was  a  manifestation  of  tlie  soul,  and  that  death 
brought  it  back  to  a  latent  condition.*  Utter  ex- 
tinction of  the  soul  was  not  a  tenet  of  any  sect  of 
philosophers,  and  yet  was,  perhaps,  the  actual  be- 
lief of  the  common  people.  The  repugnance  to 
such  an  extinction  is  well  expressed  by  Milton— 

"  To  be  no  more — sad  cure — for  who  would  lose, 
Though  full  of  pain,  this  intellectual  being-— 
These  thoughts  that  wander  o'er  eternity." 

It  is  my  opinion,  that  the  shrinking  from  death 
is,  in  a  great  degree,  attributable  to  the  love  of  life, 
which  seems  inherent  in  every  human  being.  Strong 
tenacity  of  life  is  the  natural  disposition,  and  it 
yields  only  to  an  extraordinary  disturbing  force. 
^'  Yea,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his 
life,"  is  the  expressive  language  of  the  Scriptures. 

It  was  a  remark  of  Montaigne,  that  even  when 
suifering  excruciating  torture  from  stone  in  the 
bladder,  which  might  have  been  thought  sufficient 
to  induce  a  desire  for  death,  yet  that  trivial  circum- 
stances still  had  a  strong  effect  in  keeping  up  a 
wish  to  live  :  '^  the  tears  of  a  footman,  the  dispos- 
ing of  my  clothes,  the  touch  of  a  friendly  hand,  an 
ordinary  phrase  of  consolation,  discourages  and 
melts  me." 

Yet  in  singular  contrast  with  this  tenacity  of  life, 
is  the  facility  with  which,  in  certain  emergencies, 
suicide   is   committed.     It   is   related,   that   when 

*  Plutarch  "  On  Living  Concealed." 

8 


172  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

Turin  was  occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  in  the  war 
between  Charles  V.  and  Francis  I.,  scores  of  people 
destroyed  their  lives  by  casting  themselves  from  the 
window,  as  a  relief  from  intolerable  oppression. 

I  have  seen  in  some  statistics  of  Paris,  that  sui- 
cide having  been  committed  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Hotel  des  Invalides,  by  voluntary  hanging  at  the 
lamp-post,  it  was  followed  night  after  night  by  a 
repetition  of  the  same  mode  of  self-destruction, 
until  the  police  authorities  cut  down  the  lamp-post 
and  thereby  put  an  end  to  this  singular  mania. 

So  it  is  said  that  in  some  villages  in  France,  after 
a  suicide  by  drowning,  it  has  been  usually  followed 
by  other  like  occurrences  to  an  alarming  extent,  as  if 
there  was  a  kind  of  magnetic  influence  inducing  it. 

I  think  it  will  be  found  that  a  suicide  usually 
occurs  under  a  sudden  impulse,  rather  than  by  de- 
liberate premeditation.  A  girl  drowns  herself  in 
the  first  paroxysm  of  grief  for  unrequited  affection, 
or  the  cold-hearted  villany  of  one  to  whom  she  had 
yielded  her  honor.  The  merchant  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  the  homage  conceded  to  wealth,  can- 
not endure  the  averted  faces  of  his  former  syco- 
phantic friends  when  his  fortune  is  wrecked,  and 
makes  a  violent  end  of  his  life  under  the  first  shock 
of  his  disaster. 

Yet  what  an  amount  of  misery  is  borne  by  many 
who  may  perhaps  lie  down  at  night  with  the  desire^ 
or  if  they  have  religious  experience,  with  the  prayer  ^ 


^TfilCAL  AND   I>HYSIOLOGICAL   iNQUmiES.        173 

that  they  may  never  rise  again  ;  and  still,  week 
after  week  and  month  after  month,  is  their  inex- 
pressible anguish  endured  without  being  tempted  to 
seek  relief  by  self-destruction. 

This  is  a  strong  confirmation  that  suicide  is  or- 
dinarily committed  upon  the  first  outbreak  of  some 
great  misfortune,  and  seldom,  if  ever,  after  misery 
has  grown  familiar.  We  might  have  expected  that 
Napoleon  would  not  have  survived  his  overthrow 
at  Waterloo,  but  it  would  have  seemed  unnatural 
if  he  had  destroyed  himself  at  St.  Helena,  as  a  relief 
from  the  slow  torture  of  a  cancer  of  the  stomach. 

It  is  my  belief,  that  greater  courage  is  required  to 
bear  the  ills  of  life  in  certain  conditions,  than  to 
make  an  end  of  them  by  voluntary  death.  Thus 
Gloster  is  depicted  by  Shakespeare  as  seeking  to 
throw  himself  from  Dover  cliff,  under  the  agony  he 
felt  from  the  loss  of  both  his  eyes  ;  and  exile  from 
home — 

"  0  3'e  mighty  gods, 
The  world  I  do  renounce,  and  in  your  sights 
Shake  patiently  my  great  affliction  off. 
If  I  could  bear  it  longer  and  not  fall. 
To  quarrel  with  your  great  opposeless  will, 
My  snuff  and  loathed  part  of  nature  should 
Bum  itself  out." 

Yet  after  he  had  failed  in  the  accomplishment  of 
his  purpose,  reflection  calmed  his  mind  to  endurance 
of  his  grief — 

* '  Henceforth  I'll  bear 
Affliction  till  it  do  cry  out  itself 
Enough,  enough,  and  die." 


174        ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL  INQriEIES. 

The  old  Koman  committed  suicide  with  delibera- 
tion. It  was  with  him  a  calculation  what  was  re- 
quired for  the  support  of  dignity  before  the  world, 
and,  therefore,  self-destruction  was  deemed  prefera- 
ble to  the  enduring  of  any  great  reverse  of  fortune. 
Cicero  speculates  with  some  nicety  of  discrimina- 
tion upon  the  comparative  degradation  which  would 
constitute  suicide  a  virtue,  or  rather  which  would 
make  it  a  necessity  ;  for  it  appears  not  to  have  been 
held  criminal  to  take  one's  own  life,  even  without 
cause.  He  judged  that  Cato  was  under  this  neces- 
sity, while,  perhaps,  his  associates  at  Utica  were  not 
— their  lives  had  been  less  rigid  in  principle — but 
such  had  been  his  inflexibility  of  purpose,  that  it 
was  fit  he  should  die  rather  than  behold  the  face  of 
a  tyrant.* 

It  is  related,  that  when  the  captive  king  of  Mace- 
don  besought  Paulus  ^milius  that  he  might  be  re- 
lieved from  the  ignominy  of  being  compelled  to 
walk  in  the  triumphal  procession,  he  was  told  by 
that  general  that  it  was  in  his  own  power  to  avoid 
it,  meaning  that  he  could  destroy  himself,  and,  after 
it  appeared  that  he  had  not  courage  to  follow  the 
advice,  all  the  sympathy  of  the  noble  Koman  was 
turned  into  contempt. 

Sometimes  a  misfortune,  which  was  attended 
with  no  loss  of  honor,  as  some  domestic  bereave- 

•  De  Off.,  1,  81.  >. 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    rNQriEIES.         175 

ment,  was  deemed  a  sufficient  cause  for  suicide. 
The.  younger  Pliny  mentions  the  case  of  a  friend, 
who,  in  consequence  of  an  affliction  of  this  kind, 
had  resolved  to  starve  himself  to  death,  which,  be- 
coming known,  he  was  with  great  difficulty  per- 
suaded to  renounce  his  purpose. 


CHAKACTER, AS    DETERMINED 
BY    CORPOREAL    ORGANISM. 


There  are  two  methods  of  reasoning  as  to  tlie 
origin  of  distinctive  traits  of  character.  The  one 
is  by  assuming  an  exterior  influence  as  a  moulding 
process  whereby  a  man  becomes  intellectually  and 
morally  what  this  environment  is  calculated  to  make 
him.  In  this  theory  there  is,  of  course,  taken  into 
account  something  more  than  mere  association  in 
life,  or  accidental  advantages,  as  of  education  ;  it 
includes,  also,  the  natural  constitution  of  the  body, 
aptitude  of  the  senses,  and  the  like.  Thus,  Mr. 
Locke,  who  denied  all  innate  knowledge,  even  of 
moral  principles,  and  held  that  it  was  developed  by 
a  process  of  reason,  yet  made  the  qualification  that 
there  were  certain  natural  tendencies,  which  he  de- 
fined to  be  inclinations  of  the  appetite,  not  impres- 
sions of  truth  on  the  understanding  ;  in  other  words, 
a  determination  of  a  man's  actions  by  certain  phys- 
ical wants.  The  other  method  is  by  supposing  that 
there  are  impulses  or  inclinations  in  the  mind  itself, 
which,  however  counteracted  by  circumstances  of 
life,  will  at  some  period  appear,  and  which,  though 
they  may,  to  some  extent,  be  restrained  by  outward 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIEP.      lYT 

and  accidental  influences,  do  nevertheless  constitute 
tlie  intrinsic  character  of  the  man.  These  impulses, 
it  is  said,  lie  out  of  the  range  of  organic  mechan- 
ism, constituting  independent  phenomena,  though 
they  may  be  aided  or  impeded  by  the  structure  of 
the  body.* 

The  discussion  of  an  abstract  hypothesis  would 
be  of  little  practical  value.  What  I  have  to  say 
relates  to  some  interesting  facts,  showing  practically 
the  influence  of  the  bodily  organism  upon  individual 
character. 

I.  It  was  an  ancient  belief  that  the  faculties  and 
propensities  of  the  soul  belonged  to,  or  were  located 
in,  particular  organs  or  parts  of  the  body,  which 
hence  were  symbolically  referred  to  as  representing 
these  faculties  and  propensities.  Compassion  was 
located  in  the  bowels;  Love  in  the  heart ;  Under- 
standing in  the  reins;  Anger  in  the  liver. '\ 

Plato  located  the  understanding  in  the  brain  ; 
animosity  in  the  heart ;  sensuality  in  the  liver. 

This  originated  in  the  observation  of  the  effect 
produced  upon  those  organs  by  certain  passions,  as 
anger,  which  disturbs  the  liver,  and  causes  a  flow 
of  bile  ;  love,  or  its  opposite,  hate,  which  respec- 
tively produced  a  distension  or  contraction  of  the 


*  Dr.  Ideler  has  developed  this  theory  with  much  originality  of  thought,  ia  his 
treatise  upon  the  "  Treatment  of  Insanity." 

t  Thus  it  ia  said  that  Joseph's  bowels  did  yearn  upon  his  brother,  (Gen.  xliii. 
30.)     "  Where  is  thy  zeal  and  thy  strength,  the  sounding  of  thy  bowels  and  of 
thy  mercies?"  (Isaiah  Ixiii.  15.)    My  m«5  also  instruct  rie  in  the  night  season 
(Psalm  xvi.  7.) 


1Y8  ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

heart ;  pity,  which  caused  a  relaxation  of  the  bow- 
els ;  or,  perhaps,  from  observing  that  those  persons 
in  whom  these  organs  predominated,  exhibited  the 
emotions  in  large  degree  which  were  thus  located  in 
them.  The  reins  (kidneys),  however  it  may  be 
inferred,  represented  wisdom  rather  from  their  situ- 
ation in  the  body,  being  retired  and  enclosed  in  fat, 
hence,  symbolizing  secret  purposes,  which  are  some- 
what akin  to  wisdom. 

There  is  some  truth  in  these  supposed  relations. 
An  intimate  connection  appears  to  exist  between 
certain  organs  of  the  body  and  particular  faculties 
or  impulses  of  the  mind,  and  they  may  affect  each 
other  reciprocally. 

Analagous  to  this,  is  what  has  been  recently  ob- 
served respecting  temperaments.  Sensibility,  or 
delicacy  of  mind,  belongs  to  what  is  called  the  ner- 
vous temperament ;  good  nature  to  the  digestive, 
(that  is,  when  the  nutritive  or  assimilating  organs 
predominate,  and  this  corresponds  with  the  ancient 
hypothesis  of  the  connection  of  pity  with  the  bow- 
els) ;  courage  and  enterprise  to  the  arterial  or  san- 
guine temperament ;  melancholy,  jealousy,  and  re- 
vengeful disposition  to  the  bilious  ;  and  when  there 
is  a  quick  sensibility,  as  if  the  nervous  habit  be,  as 
it  sometimes  is,  conjoined  with  the  bilious,  we  see 
sudden  outbreaks  of  anger,  which  are  not  transient, 
but  long-lasting,  which  are  known  as  peculiar  to  the 
bilious  temperament,  or  which  may,  perhaps,  be  the 
cause  of  that  temperament. 


ETHICAL   AKD   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.       179 

II.  Another  phase  of  the  dependence  of  the  mind 
upon  the  corporeal  organism,  is  seen  in  the  effects 
produced  by  the  varying  degree  of  energy  in  the 
bodily  fanctions.  Activity  of  body  is  derived  from 
an  impulse  that  may  be  considered  a  motive  of  the 
mind,  but  there  is  also  a  grosser  kind  of  impulse, 
which  may  be  discriminated  as  belonging  to  the  cor- 
poreal system.  Sensual  desire  produces  a  direct  in- 
citement of  corporeal  action,  with  which  the  mind 
has  nothing  to  do,  except  so  far  as  it  may  be  taken 
as  identical  with  life  or  the  vital  principle.  It  is 
mere  physical  propensity,  instantaneous  and  unre- 
flective.  When  such  a  desire  is  strong,  it  resists 
the  control  of  the  mind,  and  materially  affects  the 
character  of  the  individual. 

Health,  or  a  sound  state  of  the  body  is  essential 
to  the  proper  action  of  the  mind.  There  may  be 
intellectual  power  with  a  weak  bodily  frame,  but  it 
is  probable  that  in  such  cases  the  brain  and  nervous 
system,  which  are  connected  more  intimately  than 
any  other  part  of  the  bodily  organism  with  the  mind, 
are  in  a  more  healthful  condition,  or  have  more  en- 
ergy than  other  parts. 

The  mind  is  lethargic  when  the  body  is  fatigued. 
Its  rational  power  is  suspended  in  sleep,  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  mind  does  not  in  that  state 
think  at  all.  Dreams  may  be  limited  to  a  state  of 
imperfect  sleep  ;  they  arc  most  vivid  in  illness,  or 
when  the  mind  has  been  much  disturbed,  and  seem 

8* 


180  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIBIES. 

not  to  belong  at  all  to  a  condition  of  perfect  repose, 
or  what  is  called  a  deep  sleep.  Those  who  sleep 
soundly  do  not  remember  any  dreams,  and,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Lockers  reasoning,  it  is  only  by  remem- 
brance that  we  can  know  that  the  mind  has  been 
employed  in  thinking. 

III.  Connection  of  the  mind  with  vital  power  or 
life.  Involuntary  motion  belongs  to  that  myste- 
rious principle  of  a  living  being  which  we  denomi- 
nate life.  That  it  is  the  action  of  the  soul,  cannot 
be  admitted  by  those  who  limit  its  action  to  what 
we  are  conscious  of  and  can  remember.  But  no  one 
is  conscious  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  nor  is 
the  pulsation  of  the  heart,  though  we  may  observe 
it  and  measure  its  rate,  subject  to  our  will.  Again, 
it  belongs  to  the  brute  creation,  and  we  must  admit 
the  existence  of  a  soul  in  the  lowest  forms  of  ani- 
mal structure,  and  that  it  must  be  immortal  like 
our  own,  if  life  or  the  vital  principle  is  a  function 
of  the  soul.  Locke  concluded  that  we  could  not 
prove  the  soul  to  be  immaterial ,  but  that  this  did 
not  interfere  with  the  assumption  of  its  immortality. 

The  ancients  believed  the  soul  to  be  but  a  subtile 
or  refined  form  of  matter.  "  Vita  continetur  cor- 
pore  et  spiritu"  (life  is  contained  in  the  body  and  spi- 
rit), says  Cicero,  meaning  by  "  corpore"  the  outward, 
corporeal  structure.  He  doubted  whether  the  soul 
was  of  the  nature  of  air  or  fire.* 


*  Si  anima  est  forte  dissipabitur — si  ignis  extinguetur  (if  it  is  air,  perhaps  it 
will  be  dispersed— if  fire,  it  may  be  extinguished)  — Tusc.  Quaes. 


ETHICAL    AND   PnYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         181 

Virgil  describes  it  as  Kke  the  wind,  "  par  levibus 
ventis  volucrique  simillima  somno." 

IV.  Kecalling  our  attention  more  in  detail  to  the 
influence  of  the  corporeal  organism  upon  character, 
there  are  some  interesting  facts,  which  I  shall  put 
together  without  much  method. 

Beauty  of  Person  is  an  external  power,  but  tends, 
perhaps,  to  intrinsic  weakness  rather  than  strength. 
When  great  natural  gifts  of  mind  are  combined  with 
it,  they  constitute  the  elements  of  a  leader  of  the 
people — a  man  that  will  call  forth  popular  idolatiy. 
The  grsat  men  who  have  been  conspicuous  in  active 
life,  and  had  great  power  over  the  minds  of  the  com- 
mon people,  have  generally  been  remarkable  for  dig- 
nity of  person.  When  we  read  of  the  fondness  of 
the  Romans  toward  Pompey,  who  was,  through  all 
his  life,^a  favorite,  we  hardly  need  to  be  informed  by 
the  historian  of  his  princely  grace.  The  majesty  of 
Mohammed's  person  may  account,  in  part,  for  the 
marvellous  power  which  he  had  over  a  people  that 
had  never  before  been  united  by  either  force  or  popu- 
lar art. 

In  a  rude  state  of  society,  an  imposing  person  is 
indispensable  to  the  obtaining  of  popular  favor. 
Would  the  splendid  renown  of  Charlemagne,  at- 
tested by  the  indissoluble  blending  with  his  name 
of  the  appellation  of  Great ^  have  been  attainable  in 
the  barbaric  age  which  he  illuminated,  without  his 
colossal  figure  and  regal  mien  ?  Something  of  this 
influence  may  be  seen  even  in  the  higher  civilization 


182        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

of  modern  nations.  Do  we  properly  estimate  liow 
much  the  reverent  admiration  with  which  the  Amer- 
ican people  looked  up  to  Washington  was  due  to 
his  imposing  aspect  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  Bacon  has  remarked  that  beau- 
tiful persons  are  seldom  otherwise  of  much  virtue  ; 
that  they  may  be  accomplished,  but  not  of  great 
spirit,  to  which,  of  course,  there  are  exceptions.  It 
is,  perhaps,  more  generally  true  that  those  who  have 
no  such  advantage,  have  a  perpetual  incitement  to 
effort,  especially  if  they  have  otherwise  much  merit. 
And  if  there  be  deformity,  it  is  likely  to  induce 
preternatural  energy,  either  for  good  or  evil.  Hence, 
it  may  result  in  a  noble  character,  or,  it  may  be,  in 
low-minded  cunning. 

The  Irish  orator,  Curran,  is  an  instance  how  per- 
sonal defects  can  be  compensated  by  conversational 
power.  Lord  Byron  probably  owed,  in  no  small 
degree,  the  intensity  of  his  poetical  effort  to  a  slight 
deformity  ;  something,  too,  may  be  attributed  to 
his  want  of  social  talent,  and  a  feeling  of  inferiority 
caused  thereby,  which  roused  in  him  an  almost  in- 
sane desire  of  distinction  in  some  other  mode. 

Sir  Geoffry  Hudson,  as  described  by  Scott,  is  a 
good  illustration  of  the  effect  of  diminutive  stature, 
without  anything  otherwise  disagreeable.  The  Black 
Dwarf  exemplifies,  on  the  other  hand,  the  opposite 
effect  of  disproportion,  or  anything  repugnant  to 
our  natural  feelings. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         183 

Healthful  functions  of  the  body  have  more  to  do 
tkan  is  commonly  supposed,  not  merely  with  energy 
of  character,  but  with  moral  disposition  of  the  mind. 
"  To  be  weak  is  miserable  doing  or  suffering."  This, 
although  represented  to  be  spoken  by  Satan,  is  an 
axiom  applicable  to  human  life,  though  with  some 
modifications.  One  of  the  essentials  of  greatness  is 
a  sound  body — not  necessarily  great  strength  of 
sinews — ^but  the  physical  force  essential  to  the  de- 
velopment of,  and  putting  to  practical  use,  the  pow- 
ers of  the  mind.  There  are  instances  which  would 
seem  to  show  that  a  strong  will  is  superior  to,  or 
independent  of,  bodily  infirmity,  as  we  see  exempli- 
fied in  William  III.  of  England,  who  was  remark- 
able for  indomitable  resolution,  and  yet  was,  all  his 
life,  afflicted  with  ailments  of  body.  Generally, 
however,  energy  of  mind  is  weakened  by  bodily  in- 
firmity. There  is  less  of  enterprise  and  perseverance, 
perhaps,  in  part,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  less  de- 
sire. The  applause  of  men  is  of  little  account  to 
one  whose  hold  of  life  is  slight,  and  who  is  continu- 
ally admonished  of  the  precarious  nature  of  all  that 
he  may  hope  for,  even  if  he  could  obtain  it.  Wealth 
has  comparatively  little  attraction  for  one  who  has  no 
capacity  to  enjoy  it,  though  it  may  derive  some  con- 
sequence by  contrast  with  the  discomfort  of  poverty. 
Strong  passions  are  the  nerves  of  the  mind,  and 
these  are  not  ordinarily  developed  when  there  is 
little   opportunity   of   indulgence.      Happiness   is 


184:        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIfilES. 

chiefly  dependent  upon  social  sympathy,  and  there- 
fore a  man  who,  by  ill-health,  is  precluded  from 
much  intercourse  with  others,  or  whose  thought  is 
continually  directed  to  his  own  suffering,  is  shut  off 
from  much  of  what  constitutes  the  ordinary  enjoy- 
ment of  life.  One  modification,  however,  is  some- 
times seen,  viz.,  that  as  the  range  of  sympathy  is 
curtailed  it  may  become  intensified  within  a  circum- 
scribed limit.  Thus,  there  is  sometimes  exhibited 
great  sweetness  of  disposition  and  pure  affection  by 
an  invalid  ;  but  this  is  when  disease  affects  the 
grosser  part  of  thie  bodily  organism,  producing  pain 
or  lassitude,  but  leaving  free  the  more  spiritual  part 
of  the  system,  which  is  in  nearest  connection  with 
the  mind.  * 

Another  phase  of  bodily  infirmity  is  its  religious 
aspect ;  perhaps  its  tendency  is  to  produce  a  higher 
order  of  piety.  How  many  hours  are  there  that  one 
who  is  subject  to  habitual  pain  must  suffer  in  silence  ? 
The  sympathy  of  friends  cannot  be  always  tasked. 
Even  the  affection  of  woman,  which  is  proverbial 
for  its  endurance  of  many  trials,  will  fail,  or  be  se- 
riously impaired  where  an  invalid  is  subject  to  ail- 
ments of  long  and  unintermitting  continuance,  es- 
pecially where  there  is  a  breaking  down  or  gradual 
wearing  out  of  the  faculties  of  mind. 

And  were  it  otherwise,  it  would  be  an  ungene- 
rous abuse  of  friendship  to  make  it  bear  our  bur- 
den, when  we  have  it  not  in  our  power  to  perform, 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        185 

in  our  turn,  the  same  kind  offices  to  others.  At  such 
times,  how  lonely  seems  the  world — ^how  vain  all 
human  solace — then  does  the  soul  look  through  the 
gloom  to  a  higher  source  of  comfort,  and  find,  in  a 
clearer  faith  and  brighter  vision  of  spiritual  things, 
the  mysterious  communications  which  the  stricken 
spirit  often  receives  from  the  invisible  world,  a  con- 
solation which,  to  those  who  have  not  had  the  like 
experience,  is  wholly  inexplicable. 

There  is,  however,  a  counter  color,  which  should 
be  noticed.  In  a  state  of  health  not  wholly  dis- 
abling a  man  from  active  business,  and  yet  inter- 
fering with  consecutive  or  long-continued  exertion, 
causing  at  least  exhaustion  as  a  consequence  of  toil 
which  it  is  necessary  to  undergo,  there  will  inevita- 
bly be  a  low  state  of  feeling,  which,  with  the  in- 
crease of  ailment,  will  become  morbid.  As  religion 
has  to  do  with  feeling  as  well  as  conduct,  it  will,  in 
such  a  case,  be  likely  to  take  a  sombre  hue.  Infir- 
mity, whether  it  be  the  efiect  of  age,  or  of  disease, 
may  induce  a  pious  tone  of  mind,  and  a  praisewor- 
thy resignation ;  yet  the  religious  experience  of  those 
who  have  great  trials  of  this  kind,  has  a  melancholy, 
or  at  least,  uninviting  aspect,  to  those  who  possess  a 
robust  habit  of  body.  There  is  ofttimes  a  want  of 
charity  in  prescribing  a  particular  phase  of  religious 
character,  as  a  standard  for  all.  Serenity  of  mind, 
humility  and  sympathy  with  distress,  are  developed 
in  those  who  have  suffered  great  trials,  and  these 


186        ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

are  admirable  qualities  ;  but  they  are  not  to  be 
looked  for  in  an  equal  degree  in  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  very  active  duties.  Each  should  respect 
in  the  other  whatever  of  merit  is  peculiar  to  him, 
and  should  mutually  aid  each  other.  The  Christian, 
serene  in  bodily  weakness,  may  impart  something  of 
his  peace  of  mind  to  the  robust  and  vigorous,  who 
are  more  exposed  to  the  disturbing  influences  of  the 
world.  Nor  should  the  latter  undervalue  the  sub- 
dued tone  of  those  who  are  by  bodily  weakness  com- 
paratively secluded  from  the  conflicts  of  life,  but 
communicate  to  them  something  of  their  own  buoy- 
ant hopes  and  energy  of  resolution. 


SELF-KENOVATION; 


OR,    METHODS    OF     REPAIRING   WASTED    ENERGY    OF 
MIND. 


It  may  be  a  question  whether  there  is  exhaustion 
of  mind.  Possibly  it  may  be  only  the  corporeal 
agencies  which  suffer  waste  by  mental  effort.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  severe  study,  or  any 
long-continued  tension  of  the  mind,  seems  to  call 
for  some  alternation  of  bodily  exercise,  or  some  in- 
dulgence that  may  be  denominated  sensuous  in  dis- 
tinction from  the  intellectual. 

Such  indulgence  may  have  many  gradations  from 
the  gross  to  the  refined,  but  the  principle  is  in  all 
cases  the  same.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  found  relief  from 
thought  in  the  use  of  tobacco,  which  he  smoked  to 
excess,  and  this  seems  to  be  the  general  habit  of 
German  scholars.  Other  more  innocent  modes  of 
recreation  are  mentioned,  as  the  practice  of  Bourda- 
loue,  to  dance  to  his  own  music  upon  the  fiddle,  at 
intervals,  while  writing  his  sermons,  and  that  of 


188        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES. 

Montesquieu,  who  relieved  himself,  when  wearied 
with  the  composition  of  the  Spirit  of  Laws,  by  read- 
ing the  Arabian  Nights,  although  there  is  some  evi- 
dence in  his  Persian  Letters  that  he  had  a  taste  for 
grosser  pleasures.  Indulgence  in  wine,  opium,  or 
sensual  love,  may  be  set  down  as  the  gratification  of 
an  appetite  rather  than  as  an  aid  to  the  mind, 
though  it  is  related  of  Blackstone  that  he  habitu- 
ally had  a  bottle  of  wine  by  him  when  writing  his 
Commentaries,  and  there  is  unmistakable  evidence 
in  some  of  De  Quincey's  writings  that  they  were 
produced  under  the  influence  of  opium. 

The  more  refined  pleasure  derived  from  music,  or 
the  sight  of  paintings,  sculpture,  scenes  of  nature, 
and  the  like,  may  be  considered  as  appertaining  to 
the  mind.  Taste  in  the  fine  arts  is  an  intellectual 
accomplishment,  though  in  actual  exercise,  involving 
perception  by  the  eye  and  ear. 

There  is  also  a  relief  to  the  mind  in  the  alterna- 
tion of  difierent  subjects  of  thought,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  most .  men  involuntarily  recur  to  some 
habitual  or  favorite  subject.  It  was  a  significant 
fable  of  Antceus,  that  he  recovered  his  strength 
whenever  he  touched  the  earth,  which  was  repre- 
sented to  be  his  mother,  and  was  overcome  only  by 
being  lifted  up  from  it.  So  there  are  certain  thoughts 
which  we  fall  back  upon  to  gather  up  our  strength, 
when  wasted  by  exhausting  labor,  or  the  distrac- 
tions of  life.     It  is  this,  indeed,  which  maintains 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  189 

individual  character.  Without  it,  the  many  would 
be  fused  into  one,  a  few  paramount  spirits  giving 
character  to  all  others,  so  as  to  produce  a  common, 
undistinguishable  likeness,  or  at  least  to  wear  away- 
whatever  is  peculiar  to  any  one  not  having  a  strong 
will.  But  there  is  a  time  for  reflection — memory  is 
busy  with  the  past — early  thoughts  and  resolutions, 
and  tender  associations,  come  back  to  us.  It  is  a 
kind  Providence  that  such  reminiscences  have  a  ten- 
dency to  soften  down  the  asperities  of  our  nature, 
and  to  renew  whatever  there  is  in  us  of  good.  The 
loved  ones  who  are  dead  are  still  guardians  of  our 
honor  and  happiness  ;  in  our  solitary  hour  they  rise 
before  us  with  a  power  like  what  would  be  felt  in 
their  actual  presence.  And  if  among  these  visions 
of  the  mind  there  is  anything  that  reminds  us  of 
wrong  which  we  have  done,  the  feeling  induced  is 
not  altogether  of  painful  self-reproach,  but  rather  of 
chastened  sorrow,  leading  to  or  confirming  a  purpose 
to  expiate  the  past  by  a  better  future.  Happy  is 
he  who  has  learned  where  his  strength  lies,  and 
what  are  the  recollections  which  most  sustain  his 
good  resolutions,  for  he  is  then  armed  against  temp- 
tation and  evil  influences,  and  though  he  may  some- 
times yield  to  them,  he  will,  at  the  first  interval 
of  thought,  recover  himself. 

But  if  there  are  those  who  are  able  to  resist  this 
potent  agency  ;  if  the  heart  is  so  hardened  as  to  be 
unimpressible  by  the  memories  of  by-gone  years, 


190        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQTJIEIES. 

we  know  that  it  is  a  spell  which  will  some  day  be 
broken.^*' 

An  antithetical  effect  is  thus  seen — the  external 
or  direct  influences  in  the  action  of  life,  alternating 
with  the  internal  or  reflective  ;  in  other  words,  an 
oscillation  between  sympathetic  impulses  and  the 
restraints  of  thought ;  and  the  observation  of  this 
has  led  many  into  a  revulsion  against  worldly  asso- 
ciations, and  a  settled  seclusion  into  the  privacy  of 
their  own  thoughts — a  course  akin  to  what  Foster 
speaks  of  as  his  experience,  "  a  feeling  of  revolt 
when  he  found  himself  coming  into  anything  like 
intimate,  confiding  kindness  with  any  except  a  very 
few." 

This  course  of  thought  furnishes  confirmation  of 
the  psychological  theory,  that  character  is  made  up 
of  original  impulses,  and  that  the  proper  balance  is 
maintained  only  by  the  counteraction,  or  at  least 
restraint,  of  one  impulse  by  another,  thus  making 
an  antagonism  of  motive  powers,  which  in  their 
joint  action,  maintain  a  general  harmony,  if  one  does 
not  obtain  an  undue  preponderance  over  another. 
But  whenever  the  action  of  one  becomes  excessive, 
or  out  of  proportion  to  that  of  others,  the  proper 


•  Foster  has  described  this  state  with  gloomy  energy :  "  Does  this  dead  stilhiess 
of  conscience  appear  an  awful  situation  ?  Why  does  it  so  ?  Because  we  foresee 
that  it  will  awake,  and  with  an  intensity  of  life  and  power  proportioned  to  this 
long  sleep,  as  if  it  had  been  growing  gigantic  during  its  slumber.  *  •  It 
will  awake — probably  in  the  last  hour  of  life — but  if  not,  it  will  nevertheless 
awake ;  in  the  other  world  there  is  something  that  will  awake  it — at  the  last  day." 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.       191 

balance  or  equilibrium  is  subverted.  Then  comes 
what  may  be  properly  termed  insanity — an  unsound- 
ness of  mind.  The  remedy  for  this  is  by  restoring 
the  healthful  functions  of  the  powers  which  have 
for  the  time  been  crowded  out  of  their  proper  office. 
Insanity  is,  in  fact,  the  concentration  of  mind  upon 
one  subject,  or  perhaps  we  may  more  properly  say 
that  this  is  the  incipient  stage  ;  when  the  balance 
is  once  lost,  there  is  nothing  but  chaotic  confu- 
sion in  all  the  elements  of  thought.  It  becomes  ob- 
vious, therefore,  that  restoration  to  a  natural  state 
is  to  be  accomplished  by  bringing  back  the  mind  to 
the  multiform  processes  which,  by  a  law  of  our  na- 
ture, are  essential  to  its  healthful  condition. 

Following  out  this  theory  of  various  powers,  each 
useful  in  its  proper  action,  but  dangerous  if  it  shall 
obtain  undue  mastery,  thus  symbolizing  a  free,  civil 
government,  in  which  there  are  many  co-operating 
powers,  each  constituting  a  check  upon  the  other, 
we  can  see  something  of  the  nature  of  the  probation 
to  which  human  life  is  subject. 

The  hypothesis  of  Comte'*'  has  a  basis  of  truth, 
viz.,  that  energy  of  action  is  derived  from  instincts 
which,  in  every  stage  of  civilization,  preponderate 
over 'the  intellectual  faculties.  The  latter  "  being 
naturally  the  most  energetic,  their  activity,  if  ever 
so  little  protracted  beyond  a  certain  degree,  occa- 
sions in  most  men  a  fatigue  which  soon  becomes  un- 

•  Comte's  "  Positive  Philoeophy." 


192       ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQlJlJtllES. 

supportable."  Intellectual  activity  is,  therefore,  to 
be  incited  by  impulse  from  the  lower  hut  stronger 
propensities,  and  the  nature  of  man  is  elevated  in 
proportion  as  he  is  moved  by  the  hetter  propensities, 
but  in  social  relation,  the  lowest,  or  most  sensual, 
have,  in  fact,  the  ascendency. 

The  moral  growth  of  an  individual  is  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  influence  which  the  nobler  prin- 
ciples of  his  nature  have  upon  his  life  ;  the  advance- 
ment of  society  is,  of  course,  measured  by  the  indi- 
vidual character  of  its  members.  Thus  we  see  that 
we  are,  by  our  natural  constitution,  impelled  to  ac- 
tivity by  our  grosser  proclivities,  and  that  we  are  re- 
strained from  excess  by  intellectual  powers,  the  cul- 
ture and  preponderating  exercise  of  which  consti- 
tute all  real  advancement  in  civilization. 


GOVEKNMENT  AND  LAWS,  AS  AF- 
FECTING THE  GKEATNESS  OF 
STATES. 


The  hypothesis  that  national  character  is  origin- 
ally determined  by  its  laws,  is  a  fallacy.  I  think  it 
clear  that  government  and  laws  grow  out  of  the  cus- 
toms of  the  people,  or  rather  that  they  are  coeval 
with  early  customs  and  habits  of  thinking.  The 
common  version  that  the  laws  of  some  of  the  cele- 
brated ancient  states  were  devised  by  some  lawgiver, 
and  that  the  subsequent  character  of  the  people 
was  derived  from  these  laws,  is  a  mere  illusion.  The 
most  that  was  done  by  any  personage  of  this  kind, 
was  merely  to  bring  into  harmony  the  laws  already 
existing,  and  interpose  some  checks  against  sudden 
revulsions. 

It  has  been  shown  by  Bishop  Thirlwall  that  Ly- 
curgus  did  little  more  than  re-enact  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  government  already  existing.  The 
assembly  of  the  people,  the  Gerusia,  or  Senate,  the 
two  kings,  and  almost  all  the  usages  prescribed  by 
him,  were  already  known  ;  some  modifications  may 


194  ETHICAL  AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQtJIEIES. 

have  been  established,  but  the  chief  thing  done  was 
to  reduce  to  a  systematic  form  customs  already  ex- 
isting, and  to  render  them  permanent  by  religious 
sanction. 

So,  too,  at  Athens,  the  assembly  of  the  people, 
the  Senate,  the  Areopagus,  and  the  laws  relating  to 
civil  rights,  existed  before  the  time  of  Solon.  What 
he  did  was  merely  to  settle  certain  questions  which 
were  in  dispute  between  the  common  people  and  the 
aristocracy,  and  to  establish  permanently  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  laws,  which  had  before  been 
oscillating  according  to  the  ascendency  of  one  or 
other  political  party. 

The  history  of  Koman  laws  has  been  much  mis- 
understood. The  common  version  is  that  the  De- 
cemvirs compiled  a  code  of  laws,  for  which  purpose, 
it  is  said,  they  visited  Athens,  and  hence  it  has  been 
supposed,  that  they  transplanted  what  they  enacted, 
from  other  states.  But  it  is  certain  that  the  Twelve 
Tables  are  not  made  up  from  Athenian  laws  ;  in 
fact,  it  is  intrinsically  evident,  as  well  as  historically 
shown,  that  they  were  made  up  from  the  customs 
of  the  Eomans  already  existing,  and  that  they  con- 
stituted but  a  small  part  of  the  unwritten  law  which 
was  then  in  force,  and  which  was  recognized  and 
acted  upon  even  after  the  Twelve  Tables  had  been 
adopted. 

I  think  it  will  be  found,  that  in  every  state,  an- 
cient or  modern,  there  has  been  a  customary,  or  un- 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        195 

written  law  before  there  has  been  a  compilation  in 
the  form  of  codes  or  statutes.* 

The  common  law  of  England  was,  for  centuries, 
merely  traditionary,  and  even  at  the  present  time, 
has  no  authentic  record,  except  in  the  decisions  of 
courts,  which  are  fragmentary,  and  have  been  re- 
duced to  system  only  by  the  compilations  of  com- 
mentators. Statutes  have  merely  modified  the  ex- 
isting law,  or  declared  it  when  it  was  doubtful.f 

As  to  the  English  Constitution,  it  was  wholly  the 
growth  of  public  usages.  It  derived  little  or  noth- 
ing from  theory.  There  was  never,  in  fact,  any 
formal  reduction  of  it  into  a  written  or  statutory 
form.  The  Magna  Charta,  and  various  other 
statutes,  merely  restrained  royal  tyranny,  or  feudal 
abuses.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  James  I., 
and  thence  on  till  the  revolution  which  com- 
menced in  1640,  we  find,  for  the  first,  an  appeal  to 
principles  of  natural  right.  Yet,  even  then,  the 
laws  were  not  methodized  into  the  form  of  a  code 
or  written  constitution.  The  same  remark  applies 
to  the  revolution  of  1688.  Even  at  the  present 
time  the  structure  of  the  British  government,  and 
the  political  rights  that  are  secured  by  it,  are  under- 
stood, only  or  chiefly  through  traditionary  evidence 


•  This  course  of  reasoning  has  been  pursued  more  at  length  in  the  Article  "  Code" 
in  Appleton'a  "  Cyclopsedia,"  which,  I  may  properly  say,  lest  I  should  seem  to 
have  borrowed  from  it  too  freely,  was  written  by  me. 

t  See  article  "  Common  Law"  in  the  "  Cyclopeedia." 

9 


196         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

of  usage,  reduced  into  some  method  by  elementary 
writers. 

I  think  there  has  been  no  instance  of  a  complete 
form  of  government  established  by  legislative  en- 
actment until  the  experiment  was  made  in  1789,  by 
the  North  American  States.  The  precedent  was 
afterward  followed  by  France,  but  all  the  constitu- 
tions set  up  in  that  country  during  the  revolution- 
ary period  were  ephemeral — they  successively  and 
rapidly  were  obliterated,  giving  place  to  a  regime 
founded  upon  the  practical  exigencies  of  the  times, 
which  called  for  military  power  rather  than  a  theo- 
retical partition  of  civil  rights.  Defence  against 
foreign  aggression,  in  the  first  instance,  and  the 
maintenance  of  national  eclat  subsequently,  con- 
stituted a  greater  pressure  than  all  the  inequali- 
ties and  abuses,  relief  from  which  was  the  first  mo- 
tive power  that  inaugurated  the  revolution.  A 
memorable  revision  of  the  laws,  as  affecting  private 
rights,  was,  indeed,  accomplished  during  the  reign 
of  Napoleon.  It  is,  however,  a  mistake  which,  per- 
haps, has  become  general,  that  the  French  code  was 
a  new  or  original  system  of  laws  ;  it  was  no  such 
thing.  It  was,  on  the  contrary,  a  compilation  by 
able  lawyers,  from  all  the  different  codes  or  systems 
of  laws  existing  in  the  different  provinces  of  France, 
and  merely  introduced  a  uniformity  throughout  all 
the  departments,  with  some  modifications  suggested 
by  the  experience  of  the  jurisconsults  who  were 
charged  with  the  revision. 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        197 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  notice  the  crude  and 
abortive  attempts,  in  Mexico  and  South  America,  to 
establish  institutions  or  systems  of  laws  in  imita- 
tion of  the  legislative  action  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can States.  There  had  been  no  discipline  of  the 
popular  mind  by  tradition  and  usage.  The  result  has, 
conseq[uently,  been  a  failure.  There  has  been  the  form 
of  a  constitution  and  the  semblance  of  laws,  nomi- 
nally securing  equality  of  rights,  but  there  has  been 
no  sufficient  popular  intelligence,  or  firmness  of 
character,  to  insure  any  substantial  benefit  from  the 
constitution  and  laws  thus  enacted.  Military  rule  has 
been  paramount ;  legislative  enactments  are  power- 
less ;  there  is,  in  fact,  no  freedom,  except  in  the 
formal  declarations  of  laws,  which  are  wholly  disre- 
garded. 

My  present  purpose  is,  however,  not  so  much  to 
trace  the  origin  of  laws  as  to-  deduce  their  efiect  in 
whatever  mode  they  may  have  been  constituted 
upon  the  development  of  natural  power. 

There  is  some  exaggeration  as  to  the  effect  of  the 
form  of  government  upon  individual  rights.  A 
despotism,  it  is  true,  may  arbitrarily  supersede,  or 
abrogate,  all  private  or  individual  immunities.  In 
ordinary  course,  however,  this  is  not  done.  The 
chief  injury  done  by  an  arbitrary  government  is  the 
leaving  too  large  a  discretion  to  unprincipled  subor- 
dinates. The  wrong,  however,  that  may  be  done  by 
the  inferior  official  is  not   for   the  benefit  of   the 


198      ETHICAL  AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

general  government ;  on  the  contrary,  it  may  be  set 
down  to  his  own  private  emolument,  and  this  may 
admit  of  a  more  summary  remedy  under  a  despot- 
ism than  under  a  free  form  of  government.  The 
difficulty  under  the  former  is  mainly,  that  proper 
information  cannot  be  obtained  ;  at  least  this  is  the 
case  where  there  is  corruption  among  the  officials  of 
the  central  government.  On  the  other  hand,  if  there 
is  integrity  in  the  executive  of  a  despotical  govern- 
ment, a  wrong  can  be  readily  corrected.  Under 
Domitian,  it  was  useless  to  appeal  to  the  Emperor 
from  an  unjust  decision  of  a  proconsul.  The 
Emperor  Trajan  was  ready  to  hear,  and  decide 
justly,  all  complaints  against  unfaithful  magis- 
trates. 

In  reading  the  correspondence  of  Pliny  with  the 
Emperor  Trajan,  I  was  much  impressed  by  the 
quotation  of  rescripts  of  the  Emperor  Domitian  as 
authority.  The  explanation  is,  that  although  with- 
in the  immediate  range  of  the  flagitious  passions  of 
that  monster,  no  one  could  be  safe — in  fact,  the  ad- 
ministration of  laws  was  wholly  perverted — yet,  at 
a  distance,  where  the  emperor  could  act  only  by 
deputy,  the  general  course  of  affairs  was  according 
to  precedent,  subject,  of  course,  to  exceptional 
abuses,  for  which  there  was  no  remedy.  I  have  the 
impression,  however,  that  the  wrongs  perpetrated 
by  the  deputies  of  the  emperor  were  less  than  what 
were  committed  under  what  was  called  a  free  gov- 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  199 

ernment,*  but  which  was,  in  fact,  nothing  but  the 
rule  of  a  lawless  populace. 

It  is  an  anomalous  circumstance  that  the  most 
acute  reasoning  upon  civil  rights  was  educed  under 
the  rule  of  the  most  tyrannical  despots  that  ever 
ruled  the  Koman  Empire.  Papinian  lived  in  the 
reign  of  Caracalla,  Ulpian  under  Elagabalue.  The 
Institutes,  Digest,  and  Code,  which  constitute  what 
is  known  as  the  civil  law,  were  compiled  under  the 
order  of  Justinian,  who  had  as  absolute  authority 
as  any  Asiatic  despot. 

In  the  modern  states  of  Europe  there  is  a  great 
difference  in  political  rights  ;  in  some  of  them,  as 
in  Kussia,  Austria,  and  other  states,  there  are  no 
political  rights  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  common  people 
have  no  voice  whatever  in  the  election  of  rulers  or 
the  determination  of  their  measures.  In  France, 
at  the  present  time,  there  is  hardly  less  of  absolu- 
tism. But,  nevertheless,  in  all  countries,  there  is  an 
administration  of  laws  as  affecting  private  rights 
according  to  certain  fixed  rules. 

The  evil  under  a  despotical  government  is  the 
difficulty  of  getting  redress  for  any  injustice  done 
by  an  administrative  officer  ;  yet  if  the  ruler  has 
integrity,  there  will  be  more  speedy  retribution 
where  there  is  absolute  power,  than  there  would  be 
under  a  free  government.     There  can  be  no  doubt 

•  I  refer  to  the  form  of  government  shortly  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil 
war,  in  which  Cssar  gained  absohite  power. 


200         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQTJIKIE8. 

that  wrongs  were  committed  by  Eoman  magistrates 
with  greater  impunity,  in  the  time  of  Cicero,  when 
there  was  liability  to  public  accusation  before  the 
comitia  of  the  people  at  the  instance  of  any  one  who 
chose  to  undertake  the  prosecution,  than  could  have 
been  done  under  Trajan  or  the  Antonines.  Yet  it  is 
certain  that  the  imperial  government  had  the  general 
effect  of  diminishing  population  and  depressing  en- 
terprise in  the  provinces.  This  may  be  attributed, 
1st,  to  the  noxious  influence  of  wicked  men,  who 
wielded  the  imperial  power,  at  least,  as  large  a  pro- 
portion of  the  time  as  men  of  better  character  ; 
2d,  to  the  impossibility  that  an  individual  could 
effectually  supervise  the  vast  and  complicated  affairs 
of  a  great  people  ;  he  would,  by  necessity,  trust  the 
greater  proportion  of  what  might  come  before  him 
for  supervision,  to  subordinates,  and  these,  of  course, 
would  be  subject  to  corrupt  influences. 

The  chief  difference  between  a  despotical  and  a 
free  government,  so  far  as  respects  the  enjoyment  of 
private  rights,  I  take  to  be  this  :  in  the  former,  re- 
dress of  grievances  depends  upon  the  will  of  a  sin- 
gle person,  who,  by  necessity,  must  depute  others 
to  attend  to  the  greater  part  of  the  complaints  that 
may  be  brought  before  him  ;  in  the  latter,  there  is 
a  resort  to  magistrates  holding  office  by  an  inde- 
pendent tenure,  as  in  England,  by  appointment  for 
life,  or  by  popular  election  as  in  this  country, 
which  insures  proper  regard  to  public  opinion. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         201 

The  prosperity  of  a  country  is  to  be  judged  of  by 
two  tests;  1st,  its  power  of  defence  against  foreign 
encroachment  ;  2d,  the  protection  it  affords  to  its 
own  citizens  in  the  enjoyment  of  personal  immuni- 
ties and  rights  of  property.  The  first,  when  it  ex- 
ists in  a  large  degree,  constitutes  a  military  charac- 
ter, and  this  becomes,  in  natural  course,  aggressive, 
involving  a  continual  state  of  war.  The  greatest 
military  power  which  has  ever  existed  was  the  Ko- 
man  ;  but  the  ultimate  effect  of  the  martial  prowess 
of  that  people  was,  that  military  service  absorbed 
the  entirety  of  free  citizens — private  industry  was 
but  incidental,  and  was  mainly  left  to  slaves. 

In  modern  states  there  is  far  greater  regard  to  the 
industrial  pursuits  of  civil  life.  Yet  there  is  a 
false  estimate  of  the  greatness  of  a  nation  by  simply 
looking  at  its  military  resources.  The  whole  male 
population  of  Russia  is  liable  to  be  called  into 
the  army,  and  no  distinction  is  made  whether 
the  levy  is  for  defence  or  for  invasion  of  another 
country. 

In  England,  on  the  other  hand,  an  army  is  raised  only 
by  voluntary  enlistment,  unless  in  case  of  invasion  by 
an  enemy,  in  which  contingency  all  able-bodied  men 
may  be  enrolled.  In  most  European  states  conscrip- 
tion is  the  ordinary  mode  of  providing  recruits  for  the 
army,  and  wherever  this  prevails,  there  is  but  little 
regard  to  private  industry. 

It  is  easier  to  raise  a  military  force  in  France, 


202         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

than  in  Holland,  England,  or  the  United  States  ; 
but  this  does  not  prove  the  intrinsic  strength  of  that 
nation  to  be  superior  to  that  of  the  others.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  evidence  of  the  impoverish- 
ment of  the  people,  when  so  large  a  number 
can  be  taken  suddenly  from  civil  employment 
into  the  army.  The  greatness  of  a  nation  is  to  be 
measured,  not  by  the  number  of  men  that  can  be 
readily  called  into  military  service,  but  by  the  intel- 
ligence, wealth,  and  public  spirit  of  the  people.  De- 
fence against  enemies  is,  indeed,  essential  to  the  in- 
dependence of  a  nation  ;  but  this  is  quite  different 
from  aggressive  war. 

The  exclusive  pursuit  of  trade  and  manufactures 
has  a  tendency  to  impair  the  warlike  character  of 
a  people  ;  yet  it  has  been  found,  in  our  own  coun- 
try, that  clerks  and  artisans  do  very  well  in  mili- 
tary service.  Agricultural  labor,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  been  supposed  to  be  favorable  as  a  preparation 
for  the  hardships  of  war,  and,  so  far  as  respects 
physical  strength  and  ability  to  bear  the  toil  of 
military  life,  this  is,  no  doubt,  true  ;  but  it  is  said 
that  recruits  from  cities  have  been  found  fully  equal 
to  soldiers  taken  from  the  country  ;  this,  at  least,  has 
been  remarked  of  the  recruits  sent  from  Paris  into 
the  French  army. 

In  my  judgment,  the  most  essential  constituency 
of  a  great  nation  is  a  patriotic  spirit.  The  Koman 
was  taught  that  his  first  duty  was  to  his  country  ; 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        203 

and  so  profoundly  was  this  impressed  upon  the 
national  mind,  that  Cicero,  in  the  discussion  of 
Ethical  principles,  gives  it  a  rank  above  all  other 
virtues.* 

The  refinements  of  modern  life,  while  they  may, 
to  some  degree,  enervate  physical  strength,  furnish 
increased  motive  for  patriotism.  As  we  have  larger 
enjoyment,  so  have  we  more  to  recognize  as  secured 
by  a  national  guaranty.  But  this  alone  will  not 
suffice  unless  inculcated  as  a  moral  principle.  There 
should  be  something  sacred  in  the  thought  of  our 
country,  as  there  is  to  the  Christian  in  his  regard 
for  his  religion.  It  contributes  much  to  this  feel- 
ing when  dangers  have  been  encountered  and  hard- 
ships suffered  in  contests  with  other  countries, 
especially  when  they  have  been  in  self-defence. 
The  Scottish  nationality  was,  undoubtedly,  made 
stronger  by  the  ancient  and  long-continued  feud 
with  England. 

After  a  long  peace,  patriotism  is  apt  to  fall  off. 
The  prosperity  of  the  United  States  has,  probably, 
had  an  effect  to  diminish  patriotic  feeling.  Our 
citizens  have  not  been  accustomed  to  think  of  the 
protection  by  which  they  have  been  enabled,  peace- 
fully and  successfully,  to  prosecute  their  enterprises. 

The  rebellion  of  the  South,  which  now  agitates 


*Hi8  reasoning  is,  that  the  "Pafria"  (country)  should  be  paramount,  because  it 
includes  all  other  objects  of  our  attachment.  "  Dear  to  us  are  parents,  children, 
neighbors,  friends — but  all  that  is  dear  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  is  embraced  in 
that  one  bond  by  which  we  are  held  to  our  common  country.  "-De  0/".,  i.,  17. 

9* 


204       ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

the  country,  will  not  merel}'  be  a  test  of  the  strength 
of  the  Union  ;  there  is  to  be  another  effect,  which, 
if  I  do  not  much  misjudge,  will  be  developed  in  the 
future  character  of  our  nation.  Whatever  may  be 
the  result  of  this  contest,  there  will  be,  at  least,  a 
lasting  admonition  of  the  value  of  a  united  national 
feeling.  It  is  apparent,  that  sectional  differences 
of  opinion  have  had  more  sway  over  the  popular 
mind,  in  the  Southern  States,  than  regard  for  the 
advantages  of  our  nationality.  We  already  see  one 
result  of  this  schism,  viz.,  that  foreign  powers  no 
longer  fear  our  government,  and  are  taking  measures 
to  intervene  in  the  affairs  of  neighboring  states,  in 
a  manner  which  they  durst  not  have  done  if  we  had 
remained  a  united  people. 

My  opinion  is,  that  the  moral  strength  of  the  na- 
tion will  be  increased  by  the  ordeal  which  we  are 
now  undergoing.  Whether  the  Southern  States 
shall  acquire  independence  or  not,  there  will  be,  at 
least  in  the  North,  a  vast  increase  of  patriotic  feel- 
ing— we  shall  become  a  more  virtuous,  and,  there- 
fore, a  more  powerful  state. 

I  predict,  that,  if  the  Southern  Confederacy 
should  succeed  in  maintaining  itself  against  the 
power  of  the  Federal  government,  it  will  lack  the 
essential  elements  of  national  greatness.  We  shall 
become  weaker,  during  a  brief  period,  in  our  rela- 
tions with  foreign  powers,  but  will  soon  be  able  to 
assert  the  rights  which  belong  to  us  as  a  nation. 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIRIES.  205 

We  are  not  understood  by  European  governments. 
The  elasticity  and  energy  which  are  the  peculiar 
results  of  our  free  institutions,  cannot  be  properly 
estimated  where  there  is  no  popular  indepen- 
dence. 

It  is  my  belief  that  we  are  to  become  a  greater 
and  happier  people,  by  the  effect  of  the  trials  in 
which,  by  a  mysterious  Providence,  we  are  in- 
volved. 


SCIENCE    OF    MEDICINE 

PHYSICIANS — MEDICAL   PRACTICE. 


It  miglit  be  inferred  that  whatever  involves  the 
well-being  of  all  classes  of  men,  would  be  thoroughly 
considered  and  understood.  Health  is  so  essential 
to  the  enjoyment  of  life,  in  every  possible  condi- 
tion, it  would  seem  that  the  science  which  professedly 
has  to  do  with  its  conservation,  would  be  reduced  to 
practical  aphorisms  familiar  to  every  household, 
somewhat  as  are  the  observations  respecting  farm- 
ing or  cookery. 

So  far,  however,  is  this  from  being  realized,  I 
know  no  subject  so  little  understood  ;  and  what  is 
anomalous,  there  seems  to  have  been  less  progres- 
sion in  the  knowledge  of  the  means  of  preserv- 
ing or  restoring  health,  than  in  any  other  depart- 
ment of  science. 

The  proof  of  this  will  be  found  in  the  credence 
which  is  given  in  our  own  times  equally  as  in  an 
earlier  and  less  enlightened  age,  to  the  pana- 
ceas or  nostrums  which  are  got  up  by  cunning  char- 
latans. 


ETHICAI.   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL  INQUIEIES.        207 

It  would  be  a  mere  waste  of  argument  if  I  were 
to  attempt  to  expose  the  devices  by  which  we  are 
imposed  upon.  Perhaps  a  modification  should  be 
made  of  the  general  condemnation  of  popular  opin- 
ion which  I  have  expressed.  It  is  probable  that 
many  of  the  medicines  which  have  been  advertised 
into  popular  use,  have  some  virtue  for  certain  cures. 
But  the  attempt,  which  is  so  common,  of  getting 
up  a  panacea,  or  universal  remedy,  which  may  have 
been  of  use  in  some  isolated  cases,  and  the  success 
with  which  this  has  been  done  in  a  multitude  of  in- 
stances, affords  a  presumption  that  there  is  a  super- 
stitious credulity  in  reference  to  such  matters,  sur- 
passed only  by  the  religious  bigotry  prevalent  in 
the  middle  ages.  This  is  shown  by  the  immense 
sale  of  the  various  medical  compounds  which  have 
been  brought  before  the  public  within  the  last 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  such  as  Swaim's  Pana- 
cea, Morrison's  Hygeian  Pills,  Townsend's  Sarsa- 
parilla,  Brandreth's  Pills,  and  the  like.  It  would 
seem  as  if  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  was  suffer- 
ing from  some  ailment,  if  we  were  to  judge  from 
the  enormous  amount  of  such  medicines  that  have 
been  disposed  of. 

It  does  not  follow  that  there  is  any  greater  char- 
latanry within  the  period  I  have  mentioned  than 
has  formerly  been  practised.  The  instances  I  have 
noted  being  recent,  may  better  serve  for  illustration 
of  the  ready  credence  by  which  such  gross  imposi- 
tions are  encouraged. 


208         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

I  think  physicians  have  not,  generally,  favored 
these  irregular  and  unprofessional  devices,  but  their 
influence  has  been,  to  a  great  extent,  neutralized  by 
the  inefficacy  of  their  own  practice  against  the 
course  of  disease,  and  especially  in  respect  to  those 
wide-spread  and  alarming  ailments  which  affect  a 
large  part  of  the  community. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  sketch  very  briefly  the  gene- 
ral phase  of  medical  practice,  with  the  purpose  of 
demonstrating  its  inadequacy  to  furnish  the  pro- 
fessional aid  which  is  needed.  In  referring  to  a  very 
ancient  period,  I  have  in  view  only  to  show  by  com- 
parison what  advance  has  been  made  in  our  own  time. 

^sculapius  and  his  descendants  prescribed  only 
for  wounds  and  epidemic  diseases.  What  we  call 
chronic  ailments — requiring  time  and  regimen  for 
their  cure — they  refused  to  treat,  or  rather  they  so 
treated  as  to  dispose  of  them  very  summarily. 

Wine  mixed  with  flour  and  grated  cheese  was 
administered  to  Eurypylus  at  the  siege  of  Troy,  for 
the  cure  of  wounds,  by  the  two  sons  of  JGsculapius. 
They  sucked  the  wound  of  Menelaus  to  extract  the 
poison,  and  made  applications  of  powerful  herbs, 
but  as  to  what  he  should  eat  and  drink  they  made 
no  prescription.  The  principle  was,  that  if  a  pa- 
tient could  not  get  along  without  so  slow  a  course 
of  cure  as  regimen,  he  ought  not  to  be  cured  at  all. 

Plato  says,  that  this  was  the  general  opinion  in 
his  own  time,  and  he   speaks  contemptuously  of 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIEIES.        209 

Herodicus,  wlio  had  resorted  to  medicine  and  regimen 
for  the  aid  of  his  health,  although  suffering  from  an 
incurahle  disease,  and  had  committed  the  absurdity 
of  prolonging  his  life  in  that  way  to  extreme  old 
age.  He  remarks,  that  to  persons  of  a  sound  con- 
stitution, but  afflicted  with  some  peculiar  diseases, 
it  might  be  proper  to  prescribe  medicine  and  resist 
the  disease  by  drugs  or  incisions,  but  not  to  attempt, 
by  diet,  to  cure  a  system  thoroughly  diseased,  so  as 
to  afford  a  long  and  miserable  life  to  the  man  him- 
self and  his  descendants,  who  would  probably  be  of 
like  habit. 

Epimenides,  who  was  called  in  by  Solon  to  assist 
in  establishing  the  Athenian  democracy,'was  a  phy- 
sician of  much  eminence  ;  but  it  is  related  that  he 
made  use  of  sacred  mysteries  and  incantations. 
There  is  a  fable  concerning  him,  that  he  slept  fifty 
years,  and  when  he  awoke  the  generation  which  he 
knew  had  passed  away.  It  was  after  this  that  he 
obtained  celebrity  as  a  physician. 

Medicine  was  in  low  repute  with  the  Komans 
and  hardly  regarded  as  a  science.  Cato,  the  Cen- 
sor, wrote  a  small  treatise,  in  which  he  prescribes 
for  the  diet  of  the  sick,  duck,  pigeon,  or  hare,  which 
he  considered  to  be  light,  though  he  admitted  they 
had  one  inconvenience,  viz.,  that  of  occasioning 
dreams.  He  considered  fasting  of  no  value,  and  ob- 
jected, altogether,  to  physicians.  It  appears  that  they 
were  principally  Greeks,  and  he  thought  that  they 


210        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

were  all  under  an  oath  not  to  use  their  art  for  the 
benefit  of  the  enemies  of  their  country.**' 

The  most  celebrated  physician  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  John  De  Gaddesden,  prescribed,  for  the 
small-pox,  that  the  room  should  be  hung  all  around 
with  cloth  of  a  red  color,  and  that  the  curtain  of 
the  patient^s  bed  should  be  of  the  same  color.  In 
his  treatise,  entitled  "The  Medical  Eose,"  he  men- 
tions with  approval  a  treatment  for  epilepsy  which 
he  says,  had  been  used  with  success.  Mass  was  to 
be  said  on  the  feast  of  Quatuor  temporum,  on  Fri- 
day ;  and  on  the  Sabbath  following,  the  Scriptures 
to  be  read,  containing  the  account  of  the  disciples 
attempting  to  cast  out  devils  and  not  being  able, 
and  the  text  was  to  be  written  out  and  hung  about 
the  patient's  neck,  "  This  kind  cometh  not  out  but 
by  prayer  and  fasting." 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  Paracelsus,  in  addition 
to  a  discovery,  which  he  alleged  he  had  made,  of 
a  method  of  transmuting  all  metals  into  gold,  also 
got  up  a  medical  prescription  for  the  extension  of 
human  life  to  any  required  period.  This  last  dis- 
covery lost  popular  favor,  in  consequence  of  the 
death  of  the  Doctor  himself,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight — it  being  naturally  supposed  that  he  would 
have  lived  longer  if  he  could  have  done  so. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  physicians  should 
have  resorted  to  such  devices,  nor  that  the  popular 

•  Plufarch'a  "  Life  of  Cato." 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  211 

mind  could  be  so  easily  imposed  upon  by  tbem, 
when  we  recall  the  fact  that  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  which  is  the  essential  basis  of  all  sound 
medical  practice,  was  not  generally  known  till  the 
year  1620,  when  it  was  promulgated  by  Harvey,  an 
English  physician,*  and  that  the  functions  of  the 
several  organs  of  the  human  system  had  not  been 
ascertained  by  dissections  of  the  body.  Nearly  all 
the  information  possessed  by  physicians,  till  a  re- 
cent period,  was  founded  upon  dissection  of  animals. 
Doubtless  there  had  been  some  anatomical  examina- 
tion of  the  human  body,  but  owing  to  a  supersti- 
tious repugnance  to  what  was  considered  a  desecra- 
tion, no  results  of  such  examination  were  made 
public  ;  in  fact,  it  would  have  involved  a  physician 
in  popular  odium,  probably  have  exposed  him  to 
mob  violence,  had  it  been  known  that  he  had  cut 
up  a  human  body  for  merely  speculative  curiosity. 

Aristotle,  who  was  the  most  learned  of  ancient 
writers  upon  natural  science,  exhausted  all  the 
knowledge  then  existing  in  respect  to  animal  physi- 
ology, but,  probably,  never  dissected  the  human 
body. 


•  The  circulation  of  the  blood  was  first  demonstrated  by  Harvey,  in  the  year 
1615,  and  his  book,  "  De  Motu  Cordis  et  Sanguinis,"  was  published  in  1620 ;  yet 
80  little  attention  did  it  attract,  that  Bacon,  who  lived  several  years  after,  viz.,  till 
1626,  and  wrote  some  of  the  most  important  of  his  philosophical  works  in  the  last 
five  years  of  his  life,  takes  no  notice  of  it.  Bacon's  .theory  was  in  accordance 
with  the  old  hypothesis,  that  the  body  contained  spirits  which  were  pneumatical 
or  gaseous. 


212         ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIKIES. 

Galen,  wlio,  until  the  modern  revolution  in  medi- 
cal science,  had  paramount  authority  with  physi- 
cians, it  is  almost  certain  had  dissected  the  human 
body  ;  this,  however,  he  did  n  t  avow,  and  the  re- 
straint he  was  under,  in  this  respect,  must  have 
diminished  very  much  the  illustration  he  could  have 
given  of  the  constituency  of  the  living  human 
organism.  But,  it  may  also  be  assumed,  that  his 
investigation  was  of  comparatively  little  value,  by 
reason  of  the  necessity  he  was  under  of  dissecting 
the  human  body  with  secrecy,  and,  therefore,  with- 
out aid  ;  and  that  he  was  precluded  from  anatomi- 
cal analysis  upon  such  a  scale  as  would  have  enabled 
him  to  deduce  inferences  from  the  multiform  condi- 
tions of  numerous  subjects.  Hence,  as  might  be 
expected,  his  professional  zeal  was  controlled  and 
counteracted  by  the  difficulties  interposed  to  a 
serious  investigation,  which  was  indispensable  to 
scientific  conclusions. 

Another  embarrassment  to  the  progress  of  ana- 
tomical discoveries,  was  the  want  of  facility  in  in- 
vestigating upon  an  extensive  scale  the  difference 
in  the  conditions  of  the  various  organs  as  affected 
by  disease.  This  necessarily  involved  numerous 
examinations,  showing  effects  of  disease  upon  spe- 
cific parts  of  the  system.  This  is  now  called  mor- 
bid anatomy. 

My  impression  is,  that  this  constitutes  the  chief 
element  in  the  advancement  of  medical  science.    The 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         213 

most  important  knowledge  a  physician  can  have  is 
that  hy  which  he  can  detect  the  nature  of  disease. 
I  have  little  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  drugs,  and  yet, 
in  ordinary  course,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  whole 
object  in  calling  in  a  physician  was  to  get  an  order 
upon  an  apothecary. 

Bacon  sharply  rebuked  the  practice  of  the  physi- 
cians of  his  time.  "Although,'"  he  says,  "a  man 
would  think,  by  the  daily  visitations  of  physicians, 
that  there  was  a  pursuance  of  the  cure,  yet,  let  a 
man  look  into  their  prescripts  and  ministrations,  and 
he  shall  find  them  but  inconsistencies,  and  every- 
day's  devices,  without  any  settled  providence." 

Medical  writers  seem  generally  to  have  had  a  pro- 
clivity to  visionary  speculation  rather  than  to  prac- 
tical deductions.  Prior  to  the  discovery  of  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood,  the  common  division  of  the 
constituents  of  the  human  system  was  into  solids, 
fluids,  and  spirits,  the  last  named  being  supposed 
to  be  something  volatile  and  easily  dissipated. 

Bacon  was  thoroughly  conversant  with  all  that 
had  been  written  upon  human  physiology,  until 
within  a  recent  period  (though,  as  before  mentioned, 
he  seems  to  have  overlooked,  or  to  have  contemned, 
the  discovery  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood),  but, 
upon  the  subject  above  referred  to,  he  says  : 

"  Spirits  are  nothing  else  but  a  natural  body  rar- 
ified  to  a  proportion,  and  included  in  the  tangible 
parts  of  bodies,  as  in  an  integument.     *     *     And 


214  ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

they  are  never  at  rest ;  and  from  them,  and  from 
their  motions,  principally  proceed  rarefaction,  coUi- 
quation,  concoction,  maturation,  putrefaction,  vivi- 
fication,  and  most  of  the  effects  of  nature/'* 

The  pulse  he  supposed  to  be  a  mere  sympathy  of 
the  spirits  between  the  heart  and  wrist,  similar  to 
what  there  is  between  the  feet  and  head. 

Sweat  he  supposed  to  be  put  forth  by  the  spirits, 
and  the  utility  of  sweating  in  certain  diseases,  as 
agues,  and  certain  epidemics,  was  the  sending  forth 
of  the  matter  that  offendeth. 

Stahlj  in  the  latter  part  of  the  17th  century,  pro- 
posed a  theory  that  the  anima,  which  was  the 
designation  of  some  unknown  power,  energized  all 
the  animal  functions  ;  that  it  was  the  elementary 
principle  of  life,  and  that  disease  was  a  disturbance 
of  this  primary  force.  A  contemporary  hjrpothesis 
of  Hoffman,  founded  upon  observations  then  recently 
made  upon  the  office  of  the  nerves,  substituted  ner- 
vous action,  in  place  of  the  anima  of  Stahl.  The 
modification  was  unimportant ;  it  was,  in  both  cases, 
a  mere  name  of  something  that  was  unknown.  What 
constitutes  the  principle  of  life  was  still  left  unex- 
plained, perhaps  it  cannot  be  discovered  ;  but  it  is 
obvious  that  a  theory  is  of  little  value  in  which  the 
constituent  element  is  an  unknown  quantity. 

The  two  discoveries  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
and  of  the  functions  of  the  nerves,  have  been  of  the 

•  "  Bacon's  Natuial  Hietory,"  pp.  87-C8,  and  708-711. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         215 

very  highest  consequence  in  medical  science.  An- 
other very  important  result  of  recent  anatomical  in- 
vestigation has  been  the  development  of  the  office 
of  the  glands.  Formerly  these  had  been  supposed 
to  be  mere  absorbents  of  moisture.  Equally  crude 
had  been  the  idea  of  the  old  physicians,  that  the 
arteries  were  conduits  of  air.  This  was  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  after  death  they  were  found  to 
have  nothing  in  them,  which  fact  is  now  accounted 
for  by  observation  of  the  return  of  blood  to  the 
heart  upon  dissolution. 

Sydenham  was  remarkable  for  keen,  original  ob- 
servation of  the  phenomena  of  disease,  without  much 
regard  to  theories  derived  from  chemistry,  which  was 
at  that  time  crude  ;  and  in  this  respect  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  BoerJiave.  Eminent  professors  of  medi- 
cine have,  however,  still  continued  to  maintain  fan- 
ciful hypotheses,  some  of  which  have  had  celebrity 
for  a  time,  but  which  it  would  be  profitless  to  notice 
further. 

The  most  important  incident  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  during  the  present  century,  has  been  the 
new  procedure  introduced  by  Hahnemann,  commonly 
known  as  Homceopathy .  The  principle  upon  which 
this  depends  is,  as  expressed  by  the  name,  that  dis- 
eases are  cured  by  remedies  that  would  produce,  in 
a  healthy  system,  like  symptoms,  and  is  briefly  in- 
dicated by  the  apophthegm,  '^similia  similibus  cu- 
rantur."     The  old  practice,  on  the  contrary,  may 


^16         ETHICAL  AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

be  described  by  the  adage,  "  contraria  contrariis  cu- 
rantur/^  Thus,  according  to  the  latter  theory,  to 
remove  visceral  obstruction,  a  direct  force,  or  anta- 
gonism, as  of  jalap,  aloes,  croton  oil,  and  the  like, 
must  be  used.  In  other  cases,  with  a  sort  of  strate- 
gic art,  a  diversion  of  the  hostile  force  is  attempted 
by  a  feigned  attack  upon  some  other  part  of  the 
body,  as  to  counteract  inflammation  of  the  pleura 
mesentery,  lungs,  &c.  ;  an  artificial  inflammation  is 
produced  externally  upon  the  back,  breast,  or  loins, 
by  cantharides,  tartar,  or  other  irritating  sub- 
stance. 

In  the  homoeopathic  practice  there  has  been  a  vast 
addition  to  the  materia  medica.  Almost  every 
mineral  and  plant  has  some  virtue  in  certain  cases. 
I  do  not  think  the  infinitesimal  quantity  which  is 
administered  by  homoeopathic  physicians  is  an 
essential  part  of  the  system.  It  is  rather  an  ex- 
travagance, such  as  is  incident  to  almost  every  inno- 
vation when  first  introduced. 

It  is  my  belief  that  a  great  reform  is  needed  in 
medical  practice.  The  administration  of  drugs  has 
been  excessive,  and  must  ultimately  be  deemed  an 
abuse.  Kegimen,  including  diet  and  exercise,  is  of 
vastly  more  account  for  the  preservation  of  health, 
than  all  the  compounds  that  can  be  made  by  a  drug- 
gist. In  sickness  there  is  a  fatuity  by  which  we 
are  led  to  a  superstitious  reliance  upon  prescriptions 
of  strange,  nauseous  substances — whereas  it  would 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        217 

be  far  more  rational  to  trust  to  the  recuperative 
power  of  nature,  aided  by  rest,  ablution,  external 
applications,  and  the  care  of  a  nurse. 

The  most  successful  physicians  I  have  ever  known 
administered  but  little  medicine  ;  perhaps  they  had 
a  kind  of  mesmeric  power,  and  it  is  certain  that  in 
all  diseases,  except  certain  forms  that  are  deemed 
incurable,  as  tuberculous  consumption,  cancer,  and 
the  like,  an  elastic  tone  of  mind  has  a  singularly 
sanative  effect. 

The  most  interesting,  and  perhaps  it  may  turn 
out  the  most  important,  inquiry  in  the  whole  range 
of  medical  science,  is  the  relation  of  the  mind  to 
the  body  in  respect  to  morbid  corporeal  functions. 

There  is  sometirues  seen  an  alternation  in  the 
course  of  disease  ; — deranged  action  of  the  bodily 
organism  is  relieved  by  transfer  to  the  mind,  which, 
in  its  turn,  becomes  deranged.  Perhaps  it  would 
be  more  proper,  in  such  transition,  to  consider  the 
nervous  system  as  the  locality  of  the  transferred 
disease.  This  is  the  part  of  our  material  structure 
which,  so  far  as  we  know,  is  most  nearly  in  contact 
with  the  mind  ;  there  may,  indeed,  intervene  some 
more  subtle,  ethereal  substance,  not  discernible  by 
our  senses,  analogous  to  what  has  been  recently  held 
in  respect  to  the  transmission  of  light,  viz.,  that 
there  is  a  more  rarefied  medium  than  the  air,  the 
waves  of  vibration  of  which  produce  the  effect  which 
we  call  vision. 


218         ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQriEIES. 

One  phenomenon  which,  has  been  observed  in  this 
alternation  is,  that  sometimes  when  the  corporeal 
system  has  been  relieved  of  some  chronic  disease,  a 
change  of  moral  character  takes  place.* 

Incipient  insanity  is  generally  indicated  by  pre- 
ternatural activity  and  versatility  of  mind.  There 
is  more  ruggedness  and  force  even  in  argument,  but 
abrupt,  and,  perhaps,  fragmentary  and  incomplete. 
The  mind  is,  however,  chiefly  gifted  with  quickness 
of  thought  and  readiness  of  invention,  which  passes 
for  wit,  but  is  usually  stern,  sardonic  and  repulsive, 
even  while  it  moves  laughter.  This  was  the  charac- 
ter of  Swift's  humor,  which  was  no  doubt  attribu- 
table mainly  to  latent  insanity,  that  finally  broke 
out  into  utter  madness. 

I  think  it  will  generally  be  found  that  while  the 
struggle  is  going  on  with  the  disturbing  force,  there 
is  an  oscillation  between  mental  and  bodily  disor- 
der, but  when  once  the  mind  has  yielded  to  the  un- 
friendly influence,  bodily  health  is  improved,  that  is, 
so  far  as  respects  the  functions  of  digestion,  and 
exemption  from  pain. 

•  See  ante,  "Essay  on  Health,"  p.  69. 


DIET. 

ETHNICAL  PECULIARITIES — COMPARATIVE  EFFECTS 
OF  ANIMAL  AND  VEGETABLE  FOOD  UPON  INDI- 
VIDUAL   AND    NATIONAL    CHARACTER, 


The  Eomans  at  an  early  period  lived  upon  bread 
and  pot  herbs,  or  on  pottage. ^"^^  It  is  supposed  that 
at  one  time  they  had  but  a  single  meal  in  a 
day.  They  sat  down  to  it  with  their  servants  ;  and 
some  of  their  distinguished  men,  it  is  said  in  the 
histories  of  that  period,  prepared  their  own  dinners. 

Although  meat  was  sometimes  eaten  (as  in  pot- 
tage), their  food  was  chiefly  vegetable,  and  consist- 
ing of  what  was  raised  by  their  own  hands — the 
quantity  of  ground  for  which  purpose  was  very 
small,  two  acres  to  each  citizen  being  the  first  allot- 
ment— after  the  expulsion  of  the  kings,  seven  acres.f 

The  Turks,  in  the  period  of  their  greatest  achieve- 


•  Cheese  and  egga,  or  perhaps  meat,  sodden  with  garden  vegetables ;  it  is  no 
entirely  clear.     See  "Adams'  Antiquities,-'  4T1. 

t  This  allotment  was  called  "  hseredium,"  or  "  sors."  Many  of  them  might  be 
acquired  by  a  single  citizen,  but  one  was  considered  suflScient.  Cincinnatuxt  Den- 
tatus,  FahriciuSy  etc.,  had  no  more;  Cincinnatus  had  but /our. 

10 


220         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

ments,  as  is  related  by  a  traveller,  fed  upon  bread, 
garlic,  and  sour  milk.* 

In  Persia  it  seems  that  tbe  ordinary  fare  is  chiefly 
vegetable.  Cold  boiled  rice,  bread,  and  sour  curds, 
are  the  provisions  usually  carried  upon  a  journey. f 

The  Prussians  subsist  chiefly  upon  bread  and 
butter,  and  potatoes.  The  lower  class  of  Irish,  it 
is  well  known,  live  almost  entirely  upon  potatoes. 
The  physical  strength  which  they  possess,  and  their 
capacity  for  labor,  prove  that  their  diet  is,  in  that 
climate,  not  inadequate  to  their  physical  needs. 

In  the  northern  regions,  animal  food  seems  to  be 
craved.  The  Esquimaux  eat  enormously  of  the  fat 
meat  of  the  walrus,  and  drink  whale  oil.  Parry 
says,  that  a  single  person  will  consume  ten  or  twelve 
pounds  of  solid  food  and  a  gallon  of  whale  oil  in  a 
day. 

The  Siberians  also  consume  an  incredible  amount 
of  animal  food ;  but  in  the  severe  cold  of  the  region 
which  they  inhabit,  human  beings  are  reduced 
almost  to  a  level  with  the  brutes. 
•  Meat  diet  is  more  used  in  England,  and  especially 
in  London,  than  in  any  part  of  Europe.  The  an- 
nual consumption  of  meat  in  London  has  been  esti- 
mated at  143  lbs.  for  each  individual  ;  but  as  there 
is  a  large  number  who  get  no  such  amount,  by  rea- 
son of  their  poverty,  the  proportion  is,  in  reality, 


•  "  Busbequjua'  Travel?,"  quoted  by  Sharon  Turner, 
t  Morier's  "  Haja  Baba." — Id. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         221 

much  greater  for  those  who  can  indulge  a  fleshly 
appetite.  In  the  whole  of  Great  Britain,  the 
average  is  92  lbs.  for  each  individual ;  in  France, 
36  lbs.,  though  in  Paris  it  rises  to  86  lbs.''-* 

In  our  own  country,  animal  food  is  the  chief 
article  of  diet ;  and  its  excessive  use  has  induced, 
as  is  now  generally  understood,  the  national  com- 
plaint of  Dyspepsia  or  Indigestion.  Other  causes 
have  doubtless  contributed,  as  intemperance  in  the 
use  of  alcoholic  liquors,  which  we  have  inherited  from 
our  English  ancestry — ^but  more  especially  the  great 
cerebral  activity  which  has  been  developed  in  our  peo- 
ple, and  which  must  have  had  a  direct  tendency  to 
overtask  and  derange  the  nervous  system. 

The  tenacity  with  which  certain  modes  of  diet 
are  adhered  to,  during  long  periods,  in  the  same  lo- 
cality, is  an  interesting  subject  of  speculation.  The 
natural  productions  of  a  country,  of  course,  must 
have  had  chief  influence  in  determining  the  original 
habit,  but  in  most  parts  of  the  world  there  is  sufli- 
cient  variety  of  products  to  admit  of  some  choice, 
and  so  far  a  national  habit  may  be  deemed  arbitrary. 
Again,  assuming  some  article  of  diet  to  have  a  large 
preponderance  in  nutritive  or  agreeable  qualities 
that  would  account  for  its  general  use,  still  there 


•  "Turner's  Sac.  Hia.,"  v.  3,  349.  There  ia  probably  no  great  accuracy  in  such 
calculations,  but  the  general  fact  ia  sufficiently  established  that  there  is  far  greater 
conBumption  of  animal  food  in  England  than  in  any  European  country.  This  can- 
not be  the  effect  of  climate,  as  the  Irish  do  very  well  without  it. 


222        ETHICAL  AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

may  be  observed  a  singular  uniformity  in  the  mode  of 
preparing  it,  which,  without  other  cause  than  the 
law  of  custom,  will  prevail  for  centuries.  Kice  is 
the  common  food  in  most  Asiatic  countries,  but  the 
Tartar  races  have,  from  the  earliest  period  of  which 
we  have  any  historic  tradition,  prepared  it  with 
meat  in  the  same  way  that  is  now  done — being  the 
well-known  pillaw. 

The  Kussian  schtsJii  (cahhage-soup)  seems  to 
have  obtained  equal  universality,  though,  perhaps, 
not  of  equal  antiquity.  It  has  become  an  article 
of  diet,  throughout  the  empire  ;  of  the  aristocracy  as 
well  as  of  the  peasant  ;  to  the  latter  it  is,  indeed, 
almost  the  sole  sustenance  of  life. 

Some  observations  by  Kohl,  the  German  traveller, 
upon  this  subject,  are  worth  transcribing  : 

"  Pillaiv,  the  well-known  tower  of  boiled  rice  and 
pieces  of  mutton,  which  still  occupies  the  centre  of 
the  dining-table  throughout  the  whole  of  the  East, 
smoked  on  the  boards  of  the  ancient  Persians  and 
Parthians  in  the  times  of  the  Grreeks  and  Komans, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  many  a  Babel  tower  of 
stone  and  marble  will  rise  and  sink  before  that  tower 
of  rice,  which  rises  afresh  every  day,  shall  be  de- 
stroyed."* 

He  also  mentions  the  ancient  manufacture  of  sau- 


•  "Kohl's  Russia,"  c.  xxii.  Ihe  schtshi  he  describes  as  composed  of  white 
cabbages,  barley-flour,  small  pieces  of  mutton,  and  kwas  (which  I  understand  to 
be  a  home-made  beer).    The  poor,  however,  omit  the  meat. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQiJIRIES.       223 

sages,  at  Byzantium,  wliicli,  he  says,  is  still  con- 
tinued, with  little  variation,  at  Constantinople. 

The  proscription  of  any  article  of  food  is  of  equal 
importance.  The  aversion  to  swine's  flesh  by  the 
Arabians  and  kindred  races,  including  the  Jews,  is 
not,  as  yet,  sufficiently  accounted  for.  The  laws  of 
Moses  might  furnish  an  explanation  in  respect  to 
the  Israelites,  yet,  unless  there  had  been  some  na- 
tional adaptedness  thereto,  the  laws  would  hardly 
have  been  enforced. 

As  to  the  effect  of  animal  food  upon  the  human 
system,  it  is  ascertained  by  the  observation  of  many 
persons  in  various  countries,  not  to  be  necessary  for 
a  sound  physical  condition  ;  in  fact,  it  appears  to 
be  demonstrated,  that  it  is,  on  the  whole,  not  so 
favorable  to  health,  or  long  life,  as  a  vegetable  diet.* 
It  may  create  greater  muscular  activity  and  physi- 
cally affect  the  mind  in  the  same  way,  that  is  to  say, 
may  give  it  greater  energy ;  but  this,  I  think,  is  rather 
to  be  designated  as  something  akin  to  mere  animal  im- 
pulse. That  species  of  mental  vigor  which  is  usually 
conjoined  with  a  high  degree  of  corporeal  functions, 
belongs  to  the  physical,  rather  than  the  intellectual 
part  of  our  system  ;  clearness  of  mind,  sagacious  per- 
ception of  truth,  and  the  sense  of  right,  belong  to  an 


•  Thia  remark  may  be  subject  to  some  modification  as  to  those  parts  of  the  world 
in  the  extreme  northern  latitude,  as  in  Greenland  and  Siberia,  where  the  climate 
seems  to  induce  a  craving  for  the  grossest  kind  of  animal  food — as  of  the  walnis 
and  whale.  Yet  in  Lapland  the  diet  im  chiefly  the  milk  of  the  reindeer.  (See 
Brooke's  "  Winter  in  Lapland.") 


224        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

organism  whose  physical  impulses  are  not  stimulated 
by  much  animal  food,  but  whose  natural  wants  are 
merely  satisfied  and  no  more.  The  low,  or  vegeta- 
ble diet,  has  been  found  most  consonant  with  a 
healthful  condition  of  mind,  and  it  seems,  also,  best 
to  insure  exemption  from  bodily  disease. 

Abstinence  is  well  known  to  be  an  important 
remedy  for  the  cure  of  most  ailments,  particularly 
any  tendency  to  diseases  of  the  head,  heart,  or  ar- 
teries. The  fasts  which  were  enjoined  by  the  Church 
in  an  early  period,  may  have  had  their  origin  in 
some  considerations  of  the  effect  upon  the  bodily 
system.  The  most  zealous  Christians  have  been 
always  addicted  to  a  spare  diet.  The  monastic 
orders  were  uniformly,  in  their  inception,  restricted 
to  a  vegetable  diet  ;  even  to  a  late  period  it  was 
the  prescribed  rule,  although  sensual  appetite  be- 
came, in  time,  in  almost  every  monastery,  more 
powerful  than  ascetic  devotion. 

Many  men  distinguished  for  great  intellectual  labor, 
have  been  abstinent  to  an  extreme  degree.  The  in- 
stances are  too  numerous  to  leave  a  doubt  that  such 
a  mode  of  living  comports  with  the  highest  exercise 
of  thought.* 

It  has  been  said  that  men  become  ferocious  in 
proportion  as   they  are  carnivorous.     In  civilized 


•  Winkelman  lived  upon  bread  and  water  ;  Dr.  Adams  (the  author  of  Roman 
Antiquities)  lived  chiefly  upon  oatmeal  porridge,  and  this  is  said  to  have  been  the 
diet  of  many  contemporai'y  Scotch  scholars.     (See  "  Turner's  Sac.  His.,"  iii.  341.) 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.       225 

life,  I. should  say  that  animal  food  has  a  tendency  to 
develop  gross  propensities,  not  necessarily  ferocity  ; 
it  may  be  as  well  sensuality ; — chastity,  and  almost 
every  other  virtue,  are  best  maintained  by  a  spa- 
ring diet ; — the  vegetable,  being  the  most  favorable. 
The  opinion  of  Lord  Byron,  that  the  reason  women 
were  better  in  disposition  than  men  was  that  they  did 
not  gormandize  as  much,  was,  perhaps,  well  found- 
ed, though  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  greater  deli- 
cacy of  the  female  structure  and  bodily  functions 
naturally  induces,  or  is  necessarily  associated  with, 
a  corresponding  refinement  of  mind  and  aversion  to 
gross  habits.  Women  who  are  subject  to  labor  in 
the  fields,  however,  eat  as  heartily  as  men. 


POPULATION. 


SHOWING     COMPARATIVE     POPULATION  —  CAUSES 
OF    THE   NUMERICAL    INCREASE    OF   A    NATION. 


The  principles  upon  which  population  depends 
are,  as  yet,  imperfectly  known.  The  facts  upon 
which  any  reliance  may  he  placed  are  of  recent  date, 
and  sufficient  time  has  hardly  elapsed  to  furnish  the 
means  of  establishing  a  comprehensive  system.  An- 
cient statistics  are  meagre  and  entitled  to  little 
credit. 

Thus,  Diodorus  Siculus  ^says,  that  the  city  of 
Sybaris  had  300,000  citizens  able  to  bear  arms,  and 
that  that  number  actually  encountered  in  battle 
100,000  citizens  of  Crotona,  another  Greek  city — 
yet  Sybaris  was  not  a  trading  town,  and  had  only 
the  advantage  of  fertile  valleys  around  it,  favorable 
to  agriculture.* 

The  same  author  states,  that  Agrigentum,  when 
it  was  destroyed  by  the  Carthaginians,  had  a  popu- 


*  See  "  Hume*s  Essay  on  the  Populousness  of  Ancient  Nations. "    I  am  indebted 
to  this  erudite  essay  for  many  of  my  criticisms  upon  ancient  authors. 


KTUICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.       227 

lation  of  20,000  citizens  and  of  200,000  strangers, 
besides  slaves  and  women  and  children,  which  would 
make  an  aggregate  of  more  than  1,000,000  ;*  Dio- 
genes Lasrtius  says  800,000.  Yet  the  whole  re- 
sources of  this  city  consisted  of  a  small  district  of 
country,  fertile  in  wine  and  oil,  which  were  exported 
to  Africa. 

Diodorus  Siculus  ascribes  to  Egypt  a  population 
of  3,000,000,  which  was  probably  below  the  real 
amount,  but  says  that  there  were  18,000  cities, 
which  is  absurd. 

Polybius  says,  that  the  Romans  and  their  allies 
mustered  700,000  men,  able  to  bear  arms,  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  Punic  wars.  Diodorus 
Siculus  says  1,000,000 — but  this  is  a  greater  num- 
ber than  the  same  extent  of  country  (the  Pope's 
dominions,  Tuscany,  and  part  of  Naples)  would 
now  produce. 

It  is  related  that  Dionysius,  the  elder,  had  a 
standing  army  of  more  than  100,000  men,  and  a 
fleet  of  400  galleys  ;  but  Sicily  was  an  agricultural 
country,  and  though  the  inhabitants  might  have 
been  numerous,  it  is  impossible  that  it  could  have 
supported  any  such  body  of  mercenary  soldiers. 

The  population  of  Athens  is  stated  by  Athenaeus* 
to  have  been,  according  to  an  enumeration  of  De- 
metrius Phalerius,  21,000  citizens,   10,000  stran- 


•  Hume  estimates  it  at  2,000,000,  but  this  is  too  large. 
10* 


228         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

gers,  and  400,000  slaves. "'•'  The  proportion  of 
slaves  is  out  of  all  bounds  of  probability,  and  it 
impairs  the  credibility  of  the  whole  statement. 

According  to  Demosthenes,  there  were  20,000 
free  citizens.  Thucydides  stated  the  military  force 
at  13,000,  which,  of  course,  included  men  of  full 
age — calling  these  one  fourth  of  the  inhabitants,  it 
would  make,  with  women  and  children,  from  50,000 
to  80,000 — to  which  add  strangers  and  slaves,  it 
might  make  160,000  to  200,000.  Xenophon  says, 
that  there  were  but  10,000  houses  in  Athens,  which 
would  make  the  population  less  than  the  above  esti- 
mate. Again,  the  census  of  taxable  property  in 
Athens,  is  stated  by  Demosthenes  at  6,000  talents 
— ^but  the  lowest  price  of  a  day's  labor  of  a  slave 
was  an  obolus,  which,  if  there  had  been  but  40,000, 
would  have  made  alone  a  much  larger  amount,  and 
this  would  be  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  extravagance 
of  the  statement,  that  there  were  400,000  slaves. 
The  walls  of  Athens,  it  is  true,  were,  according  to 
Thucydides,  eighteen  miles  in  extent,  besides  the 
sea-coast — ^but  Xenophon  says  that  a  great  deal  of 
waste  ground  was  included. 

The  population  of  ancient  Kome.  cannot  now  be 
determined  with  any  certainty — even  the  extent  of 
the  city  is  the  subject  of  controversy  among  critics, 


*  As  this  means  only  men  of  full  age,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  the  result  would 
be,  that  including  women  and  children,  the  entire  population  was  about  two 
millions. 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.       229 

some  estimatino:  the  circumference  at  thirteen  miles, 
others  at  thirty.''  The  number  of  houses  in  the 
reign  of  the  first  Theodosius  was  48,382,  which, 
allowing  twenty-five  persons  to  each  house,  would 
give  a  population  of  l,200,000.t  But  this  is  far 
below  what  is  commonly  supposed. 

If  there  is  such  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  in  the  two  most  celebrated  cities 
of  antiquity,  it  is  obvious  how  utterly  unreliable 
must  be  all  estimates  of  the  population  of  an  en- 
tire country,  especially  at  any  period  of  time  before 
statistics  had  become  a  matter  of  public  interest. 

Some  general  observations  upon  the  natural  in- 
crease and  decline  of  population,  and  many  authen- 
tic facts  of  recent  date,  lead  to  an  inevitable  conclu- 
sion, that  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  any  well- 
governed  country  is  greater  at  the  present  time  than 


•  Hume  concludes,  from  a  passage  in  Pliuy,  that  the  average  length  was  about 
five  miles,  and  breadth  two  and  a  half  miles.  Gibbon  estimates  the  circuit  of  the 
walls,  at  the  time  of  the  siege  of  the  Goths,  at  twenty-one  miles — 2  Gib.  c.  31. 

t  The  number  of  twenty-five  to  a  house  might  seem  to  be  very  lai'ge,  but  is  de- 
duced by  Gibbon  from  a  comparison  of  the  dwelling-houses  in  Rome  and  Paris. 
It  appears  that  the  plebeian  habitations  in  Rome  were  of  great  height,  and  such 
tendency  was  there  to  a  dangerous  excess,  in  this  respect,  that  imperial  laws  were 
passed  restricting  the  height  to  seventy  feet.  This  would  admit  of  six  stories,  of 
moderate  elevation,  and,  by  taking  the  number  of  inmates  in  a  house  of  corre- 
sponding dimensions  in  Paris,  at  this  day,  it  is  made  probable  that  the  estimate 
above  stated  is  too  low.  There  is  a  circumstance  which  would  much  contribute  to 
this  result :  modern  civilization  has  largely  added  to  the  indoor  comforts  of  life 
and  this  induces  something  of  exclusiveness  in  the  occupation  of  premises,  even 
it  be  but  a  single  room  ;  but  the  common  people  of  Rome  were,  for  the  most  part 
in  the  street,  the  forum,  bath,  or  amphitheatre  ;  and  went  home  only  to  lodge,  and 
as  may  be  supposed,  a  single  lodging  apartment  would  accommodate  many  persons 
with  such  rude  provision  as  was  then  deemed  sufficient. 


230         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

at  any  former  period,  and  that  the  aggregate,  in  the 
civilized  part  of  the  world,  greatly  exceeds  the 
population  existing  within  the  same  limits  under 
any  of  the  ancient  forms  of  nationality. 

I.  Population  depends  mainly  upon  the  means  of 
sustenance,  that  is  to  say,  it  would  be  so  when  other 
drawbacks,  such  as  oppressive  tjrranny,  do  not  in- 
tervene, and,  therefore,  in  the  ordinary  course,  popu- 
lation is  increased  in  proportion  to  the  increased 
productiveness  of  the  soil,  and  this,  again,  depends 
upon  the  state  of  society,  and  the  encouragement 
offered  to  labor. 

A  merely  agricultural  country  does  not  sustain 
so  great  a  population  as  one  in  which  trade  and 
manufactures  flourish.*' 

An  easy  subsistence,  that  is,  the  enjoyment  of  all 
the  necessaries  of  life,  conduces  to  marriages — but 
still  more  to  the  bringing  up  of  large  families,  as 
the  result  of  marriage.  Poor  people  will  marry, 
even  when  they  have  not  the  means  of  support,  but 
they  rear  a  less  number  of  children  than  those  who 
are  in  comfortable  circumstances,  that  is,  when  the 
latter  are  not  subject  to  counter  influences,  as  from 
vicious  or  enervating  habits.  Smith  has  observed, 
that  soldiers  have  as  many  children  as  other  classes 


*  Smith  held  the  opinion,  that  countries  are  populous  in  proportion  to  the  foo^ 
produced,  without  regard  to  other  necessaries,  as  clothing  and  the  like. — Wealth 
of  Nations. 

But  the  true  rule  undoubtedly  i«!,  that  it  is  in  proportion  to  all  necessaries,  of 
which  food  is,  of  course,  most  important. 


ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         231 

of  men,  but  that  a  larger  j)roportion  of  their  chil- 
dren die  in  consequence  of  hardship,  or  want  of 
proper  care. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that 
the  Irish  peasantry,  of  the  poorest  condition,  rear 
large  families.  How  much  is  to  be  attributed  to 
climate  is  not  settled — perhaps  the  vegetable  diet, 
which  is  general,  may  conduce  to  health,  and, 
therefore,  to  longevity.  I  have  observed  that  large 
numbers  of  the  children  of  Irish  who  have  emigra- 
ted to  this  country,  die  at  an  early  age.  There  is, 
indeed,  greater  mortality  in  every  period  of  life, 
among  these  emigrants,  than  among  our  native  born 
citizens  who  are  in  a  fair  condition  of  life.  This 
difference  may,  to  some  extent,  be  accounted  for  by 
the  greater  prevalence  of  intemperance  and  un- 
cleanly habits  among  the  Irish. 

II.  We  may  observe  in  small  towns  where  there 
is  some  trade  or  manufacturing,  and  a  quick  mar- 
ket for  agricultural  products,  the  lands  of  the  ad- 
joining country  are  improved — the  people  are  gen- 
erally industrious — marriages  take  place  early,  and 
large  families  are  brought  up.  But  when  there  is 
little  or  no  trade,  lands  are  likely  to  be  poorly  cul- 
tivated— enterprise  will  be  deficient,  and  the  young 
people  may,  in  general,  be  expected  to  be  inert  and 
marriages  to  be  infrequent.  This  may  be  seen  even 
in  our  own  country,  though  there  is  here  a  general 
growth  in  wealth  and  population,  yet  in  some  parts, 


232        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

where  the  influences  tending  to  produce  this  growth 
are  interfered  with,  as  by  emigration,  change  in  the 
course  of  trade,  and  the  like,  a  shiftless  habit  will 
be  found  to  be  the  prevailing  phase.  In  the  old 
countries,  where  the  causes  which  have  operated  so 
strongly  to  stimulate  enterprise  here,  have,  com- 
paratively, slight  effect,  it  may  be  well  conceived 
how  population  is  retarded  by  defective  industry  and 
want  of  trade. 

Where,  however,  lands  are  divided  into  small 
farms,  the  production  will  be  larger,  and  so,  conse- 
quently, population — an  example  of  which  we  have 
in  the  proprietorship  of  lands  by  the  Romans,  at  an 
early  period.  Ownership  of  the  lands  by  the  farmer 
is  most  advantageous  to  a  people — but  this  has  been 
the  rule  in  but  few  countries.  Large  estates  are 
usually  held  by  a  few — the  Romans  employed  slaves 
— in  most  European  countries  leases  are  made,  and 
the  length  of  these  and  the  amount  of  rent  charged 
determine  the  condition  of  agriculture. 

France  was  impoverished  before  the  revolution  of 
1789,  by  the  heavy  burdens  upon  the  tenants  of 
lands.  The  breaking  up  of  the  large  estates  and  the 
distribution  of  lands  among  small  proprietors,  was 
one  of  the  greatest  benefits  of  the  revolution — the 
salutary  effects  of  which  was  demonstrated  by  the 
fact,  that,  notwithstanding  the  destructive  wars 
carried  on  from  the  commencement  of  the  revolution 
till  1815,  the  population  of  France  had  increased. 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        233 

at  the  census  of  1817,  to  29,000.''  It  has  since  then 
increased  to  considerably  upwards  of  30,000,000 — 
but  the  advance  since  the  termination  of  the  war 
is  mainly  attributable  to  the  change  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  agricultural  population. 

III.  Security  of  property  and  private  rights  is 
essential  to  the  growth  of  population,  and,  in 
modern  times,  the  superiority  in  this  respect  is  so 
great  over  former  periods,  that  it  is  an  argument 
almost  undeniable,  that  population  must  be  greater 
now  than  formerly. 

The  advantage  enjoyed  in  this  country  is,  mainly, 
that  every  man,  however  humble,  is  entitled  to  the 
protection  of  the  laws,  and  can  enforce  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  under  despotical  governments,  the  ad- 
ministration of  laws  is  partial.  The  peasant  has 
little  chance  in  a  contest  with  a  wealthy  land- 
holder. 

lY.  A  last  consideration  affecting  population  is  a 
sound  moral  state  of  society.  Vice  destroys  indus- 
try, and  by  consequence  the  means  of  support,  and, 
therefore,  interferes  with  marriages  and  a  proper 
condition  of  domestic  life. 

I  think  the  main  circumstance  which  has  been 
efficient  of  the  vast  growth  of  population  in  this 
country  is,  that  there  has  been  such  remunerative 

•  At  the  commencement  of  the  revolution  it  was  a  little  upwarda  of  27,000,000. 


234:         P]THICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

return  for  enterprise  that  early  marriages  liave  been 
safe,  and  that  there  has  been  such  inducement  for 
industrial  exertion,  that  no  class  of  our  community 
has  been  allowed  to  remain  in  a  state  of  idleness. 
In  other  words,  industry  has  been  the  general  phase, 
and,  by  consequence,  a  comparative  condition  of 
domestic  purity,  and  it  has  not  been  respectable  to 
live  in  idleness,  even  when  a  man  had  the  means  of 
indulging  in  such  a  propensity. 

V.  Some  interesting  statistics  of  a  recent  date 
will  be  pertinent  to  the  inquiry  which  is  the  subject 
of  examination. 

The  densest  population  in  Europe  is  in  Belgium, 
which  has  3,791,000  inhabitants  to  13,000  square 
miles,  being  an  average  of  290  to  the  square  mile, 
but  in  some  parts  of  the  country  amounting  to  500 . 
— and  this  population  is  mostly  agricultural,  and 
not  much  congregated  in  cities. 

Holland  has  2,745,000  to  about  11,000  square 
miles,  or  about  247  to  the  square  mile — but  in  Hol- 
land there  is  great  facility  of  intercourse  between  all 
parts  of  the  country  by  water,  which,  of  course, 
makes  a  ready  market  for  agricultural  productions, 
and  induces  a  high  state  of  cultivation  ;  and  again, 
the  habits  of  the  people  have,  during  several  centu- 
ries, been  industrious  and  economical,  and  the  civil 
government  has,  on  the  whole,  been  the  best  in 
Europe,  as  far  as  respects  internal  prosperity.  In 
the  seventeenth  century  the  foreign  commerce  of 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         235 

Holland  was  greater  than  that  of  all  the  rest  of 
Europe. 

England  had  a  population,  in  1377,  accord- 
ing to  the  result  of  a  poll-tax,  of  2,300,000,''"'* 
but  this  is  supposed  to  he  much  under-estimated. 
In  1575  (reign  of  Elizabeth),  the  census  made  the 
inhabitants  4,500,000.  In  1801  the  population 
was  8,331,434.     In  1831,  upwards  of  13,000,000. 

It  is  said  that  one  half  of  the  population  of  Eng- 
land is  in  cities. f  This  population  is  principally- 
employed  in  manufactures  and  foreign  trade.  Agri- 
culture has,  however,  improved  with  the  increase  of 
population — the  production  of  animal  food  is  greater 
than  in  any  other  country,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  inhabitants — one  half  of  the  land,  it  is 
said,  is  devoted  to  pasturage — grain  is  raised  in  suf- 
ficient quantity  for  the  average  consumption  of  the 
people,  but  occasionally,  as  is  the  case  during  the 
present  year,  a  large  quantity  is  imported  from  other 
countries. 


•  In  the  reign  of  Edward  III, 

t  See  article  on  British  Population.— Jf«settm»  1S28,  vol.  i. 


PEOBATION  OF  LIFE. 

PAIN    OF    BODY — ITS    PROBABLE    USES. 


The  heathen  believed  all  human  suffering  an  in- 
fliction by  deities  hostile  to  man,  and  they  sought 
to  avert  their  cruelty  by  such  offerings  as  would  be 
adapted  to  appease  human  passion.  But  there  was 
no  idea  of  moral  discipline,  or,  at  least,  of  divine 
goodness,  in  the  ordering  of  the  affairs  of  life.  We 
are  taught,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  Scriptures,  that 
all  human  suffering  is  a  chastisement  of  sin,  not 
vindictive,  but  for  an  ultimate  good. 

If  suffering  be  regarded  as  a  discipline,  another 
question  painfully  presses  upon  us,  whether  the 
amount  of  apparent  good  obtained,  bears  a  just  pro- 
portion to  the  pain  endured.  This  is  involved  in 
perplexity,  so  far  as  the  solution  depends  on  mere 
human  reason.  The  following  observations  will 
tend  to  put  before  us  something  of  the  difficulty  in 
measuring  the  proportions  of  pain,  and  its  salutary 
consequence,  and,  perhaps,  suggest  some  explica- 
tion of  that  difficulty.  First.  As  to  the  extent  of 
pain  which  the  human  organism  can  endure.     The 


KTHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        237 

sufFering  wliicli  we  have  to  undergo  in  some  acute 
diseases^  naturally  excites  appalling  apprehensions 
of  what  we  may  be  subject  to  in  the  final  struggle, 
when  life  shall  be  extinguished  by  the  forces  of  de- 
struction. Yet,  the  closing  scene  of  life  is  often,  in 
fact,  peaceful,  and  apparantly  free  from  pain.  To 
my  mind,  it  is  a  more  fearful  thought  how  much 
can  be  endured  before  the  vital  power  is  overcome. 
Under  the  intense  torture  of  some  forms  of  suffer- 
ing, I  sometimes  feel  a  shrinking  back,  a  dread,  al- 
most despair,  in  the  reflection  how  much  more  can 
be  sustained  before  relief  shall  come  by  the  parting 
of  the  soul  from  its  corporeal  organism,  and  the  ces- 
sation of  all  sensibility.  But  here  intervenes  a  pro- 
vision which  seems  intended  as  a  merciful  interpo- 
sition in  aid  of  suffering  humanity,  that  pain,  be- 
yond a  certain  degree,  ends  in  unconsciousness,  at 
least  what  so  appears.  Whether  there  still  remains 
sensibility  to  pain  when  the  external  expression 
ceases,  cannot  be  known,  as  there  remains  no  recol- 
lection afterward  of  what  has  passed  while  the  sense 
of  external  things  has  been  suspended.  A  disturb- 
ing apprehension  might  indeed  arise  from  what  we 
do  recollect  of  sensations  in  a  semi-conscious  state  ; 
when  the  perception  of  things  about  us  has  dimin- 
ished, that  external  anguish  has  been  none  the  less 
acute.  But  this,  probably,  is  brief  in  duration, 
though  in  the  actual  endurance  it  may  seem  long 
protracted.    Such  is  the  illusion  of  frightful  dreams. 


238         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQLIKIES. 

It  is  supposed  that  what  we  recollect  has  passed 
through  the  mind,  in  the  transition  from  sleeping  to 
waking,  perhaps  in  a  single  moment,  though  in  the 
retrospect  the  time  seems  long.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  has  heen  said  that  the  extent  of  pain  in  a  mortal 
disease  is  not  in  proportion  to  the  pain  sometimes 
suffered  without  endangering  life,  as  Bacon*  has  re- 
marked, that  "death  sometimes  passes  with  less 
pain  than  the  torture  of  a  limb,"  for  which  he  gives 
as  a  reason  "  that  the  most  vital  parts  are  not  the 
quickest  of  sense."  But  this,  as  a  general  rule,  is 
not  well  founded.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
pain  is  in  proportion  to  the  resistance  of  the  vital 
powers  to  the  principle  of  dissolution.  Therefore, 
in  acute  diseases,  which  destroy  life  suddenly,  as 
congestive  fevers,  inflammations  of  the  lungs,  viscera, 
or  other  vital  parts,  there  is  great  suffering.  There 
is,  however,  a  point  where  sensibility  apparently 
ceases.  In  Asiatic  cholera,  the  countenance  indi- 
cates distress,  when  sometimes  the  patient  will  say 
he  feels  no  pain.  Here  the  disease  seems  imme- 
diately to  overcome  all  resistance,  while  in  common 
cholera,  which  is  less  rapid  in  its  progress,  there  is 
extreme  suffering. 

I  may  here  notice  a  theory,  sustained  by  some  re- 
markable proofs,  that  bodily  pain,  when  excessive, 
terminates  in  a  pleasurable  sensation,  such  as  what 
is  related  of  a  young  confessor  put  to  torture,  who 

*  Essay  on  Death. 


ETHICAL   AKD    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.      239 

said  that  after  the  first  agony  he  was  refreshed  and 
even  exhilarated.*"  So  in  the  case  of  persons  resus- 
citated after  life  was  nearly  extinct  by  drowning,  it 
is  related  that  after  the  first  paroxysm  of  suffoca- 
tion, a  delightful  languor  succeeded,  and  pleasing 
images  of  scenes  far  distant,  and  events  of  early  life, 
recurred  to  the  mind.  A  similar  effect  has  been 
spoken  of  as  recurring  after  hanging,  where  there  has 
been  restoration  of  life.  These  incidents,  however, 
though  they  may  tend  to  relieve  our  apprehension 
of  suffering  in  death,  do  by  no  means  disprove  the 
actual  extent  of  pain  which  can  be,  and  is  endured 
without  extinction  of  life.  Few  persons  have  been 
without  experience,  at  some  period  of  life,  of  intense 
anguish  from  acute  disease  or  bodily  injury,  and  all, 
perhaps,  have  had  the  opportunity  to  observe  the 
sufferings  of  others,  which  were  unmistakable  in 
their  poignancy.  Perhaps  there  is  a  kindly  pro- 
vision which  sometimes  affords  relief,  and  in  most 
cases  of  severe  distress,  perhaps  there  is  more  in 
appearance  than  is  actually  endured,  yet  the  general 
fact  remains  still  true,  that  there  is  a  fearful  extent 
of  human  suffering. 

Secondly.  There  seems,  to  common  observation, 
to  be  little  correspondence  in  the  extent  of  suffer- 
ing to  age,  sex,  or  any  condition  of  life.     Does  the 


•  See  "  Moore's  Relation  of  Body  and  Mind,'^  p.  28T.  He  also  mentiona  a  case 
of  a  traveller  in  Africa,  who  nearly  perished  with  thirst,  but  in  his  sleep  found 
relief  in  the  most  delicious  sensations. 


240        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

man  of  robust  frame  and  fully-developed  organs 
suffer  more  in  sickness  than  the  little  child  ?  We 
look  upon  the  latter  with  peculiar  sympathy,  by 
reason  of  its  helplessness  to  resist  whatever  op- 
presses it.  If  my  recollections  of  early  life  are 
reliable,  I  suffered  greater  anguish  then  than  I 
have  in  maturer  years,  or,  at  least,  had  a  greater 
sense  of  it.  After  all,  it  depends  on  sensibility,  and 
it  may  be  that  in  infancy  it  is  greatest.  Females 
of  delicate  organism  exhibit  it  in  greater  degree 
than  men.  Do  they  suffer  pain  in  sickness  and  death 
in  the  same  proportion  ?  Perhaps  excessive  sensi- 
bility is  sooner  relieved  by  the  exhaustion  of  nervous 
energy.  But  it  is  fearful  to  think  of  the  sufferings 
of  fragile  women  in  sudden  disaster,  as  by  fire,  or 
wreck  at  sea,  or  the  more  appalling  form  of  death 
by  brutal  violence. 

Third.  If  there  be  no  religious  principle,  it  is 
usually  seen  tliat  pain  at  first  rouses  a  bitter  feeling, 
as  if  there  had  been  some  harsh  and  cruel  treat- 
ment. The  heart  which  has  had  no  hallowing  in- 
fluence of  pious  emotion,  intrenches  itself  in  a  stern 
resolution — a  defiance  of  what  it  deems  a  pitiless 
arbiter  of  human  life,  and  if  the  suffering  be  not 
long  protracted,  such  defiant  resistance  may  last  to 
the  end  ;  but  if  the  pain  should  be  lingering,  such 
resolution  will  be  likely  to  subside  into  abject  super- 
stition. The  priestly  office  will  be  invoked — some 
, clergyman  will  be  called  to  stand  between  the  soul 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.        241 

and  its  God  ;  but  it  will  still  be  the  same  feeling 
that  actuated  the  heathen  worshipper — servile  pros- 
tration before  a  merciless  Deity — but  no  contrition — 
no  consciousness  of  a  deserved  penalty — no  sense  of 
Divine  mercy  mingled  with  the  chastisement  of  sin. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  soul  that  has  a  conscious- 
ness of  its  natural  state,  and  has  obtained  a  clear 
perception  of  the  holiness  which  is  the  attribute  of 
God,  will  feel  a  conviction  that  there  is  necessarily 
a  penalty  for  transgression,  yet,  that  in  the  punish- 
ment there  is  a  purpose  of  mercy. 

Fourth,  A  physical  advantage,  or  rather  a  pro- 
phylactic principle,  is  connected  with  pain  of  body. 
It  is-  a  perpetual  admonition  against  the  violation  of 
the  laws  upon  which  bodily  health  depends.  The 
child  very  soon  learns  to  avoid  what  is  destructive 
to  its  well  being  by  the  severe  lesson  of  pain.  A 
similar  warning  is  met  with  in  youth  against  the 
indulgence  of  unlawful  passion.  In  this  case,  it  is 
true,  the  consequence  is  not  so  immediate,  at  least 
the  entire  injury  that  will  follow  by  persistence  in 
a  wrong  course  does  not  ordinarily  ensue  at  once. 
The  evil  consequence  does,  indeed,  begin  as  soon  as 
there  is  transgression,  and  in  some  instances  is,  in 
its  very  inception,  irreparable.  Usually,  however, 
there  is  opportunity  for  repentance  and  reform. 
With  the  same  certainty  that  fire  will  destroy  or 
impair  the  fleshly  organism,  will  vice  sooner  or  later 
entail  disease  and  suffering  upon  the  bodily  system. 


24:2        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES. 

There  seems  to  be  a  moral  discipline  intended  by  the 
slow  progression  of  this  physical  penalty.  A  longer 
impunity  is  permitted  to  one  than  to  another.  In 
no  instance  is  the  exact  time  and  manner  of  the  re- 
tribution calculable.  Delay  lulls  present  fear,  and 
the  very  fact  that  one  outlasts  another  in  the  same 
guilty  course,  is  apt  to  induce  a  vain  opinion  that 
there  may  he  entire  exemption  from  evil  consequence 
in  a  particular  case.  Common  observation  ought, 
indeed,  to  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  any  one  that  retri- 
bution, at  some  time  or  other,  in  some  form,  is  sure; 
at  least  it  may  be  inferred  from  what  we  see  of  the 
effect  of  flagrant  vice,  that  all  lesser  degrees  have 
also  their  measure  of  penalty,  although  not  so  strik- 
ingly obvious. 

"  Thou  makes t  me  to  possess  the  iniquities  of  my 
jT-outh,''  said  Job,  and  this  may  apply  to  bodily  suf- 
fering as  well  as  to  anguish  of  mind.  Indeed  the 
former  often  constitutes  the  memento  by  which  early 
transgressions  are  brought  in  array  before  the  mind 
in  after-life.  In  the  prayer  of  the  psalmist,  ^'  Ke- 
member  not  the  sins  of  my  youth,"  we  may  suppose 
that  the  disease  of  which  he  was  suffering  recalled 
to  his  mind  early  transgressions.  One  thing  is  cer- 
tain, that  according  to  the  common  testimony  of 
men  who  have  been  profligate  in  their  lives,  there  is 
an  aggravation  of  bodily  suffering  when  the  consti- 
tution is  at  last  broken.  Infirmity  must,  indeed, 
come  to  all,  and  no  one  is  exempt  from  pain  ;  but 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES.        243 

there  are  pangs  in  bodily  suffering,  caused  by  vice, 
oftentimes  as  marked  as  the  distress  of  mind  which 
is  the  consequence  of  remorse.  Perliaps  it  is  safe 
to  say,  that  every  misconduct  in  life  will  rise  up  again 
in  judgment.  How  often  do  we  see  men  overtaken 
by  the  consequences  of  transgressions  committed 
long  before,  so  that  it  would  seem  as  if  they  had 
been  pursued  by  an  avenging  spirit.  It  becomes, 
sooner  or  later,  the  conviction  of  those  who  have 
been  depraved,  especially  when  they  have  been  guilty 
of  crimes  denounced  by  human  laws,  that  they  are 
hunted  by  their  sins,  so  that  their  minds  become 
subject  to  superstitious  terrors. 

Fifth.  But  while  we  thus  see  that  there  is  a  re- 
tributive consequence  of  all  misconduct,  yet  it  can- 
not be  maintained  that  physical  suffering  is  in  exact 
correspondence  therewith.  There  are,  indeed,  many 
other  modes  of  retribution.  And  again,  we  have 
before  us  instances  of  disproportionate  suffering  of 
those  whose  lives  have  been  comparatively  innocent. 
In  some  of  these  the  cause  may  be  hereditary  pre- 
disposition, but  in  others,  it  is  accidental  and  inex- 
plicable. There  is,  however,  this  counterbalance, 
that  when  the  character  is  virtuous,  there  is  gene- 
rally alleviation  for  distress  by  the  sympathy  of 
others.  The  innocence  of  childhood  appeals  pow- 
erfully to  the  kindly  emotions  of  our  nature.  Even 
the  vile  and  hardened  are  not  insensible  to  it.  With 
what  interest  is  a  suffering  child  watched  over  by  its 

11 


244         ETHICAL   AJSTD   PHYSIOLOGICAL  rNQUIEIES. 

natural  protectors  !  So  the  good  and  amiable,  in 
every  period  of  life,  attract  to  their  aid,  when  sub- 
ject to  distress,  the  kindness  of  all  around  them. 
The  greatest  solace,  however,  to  suffering  humanity, 
is  religious  faith.  Not  only  has  this  been  found 
sufficient  to  sustain  the  soul  in  the  ordinary  pains  of 
life,  but  under  all  the  inflictions  of  human  cruelty 
in  Christian  martyrdom. 

It  is  sufficient  to  mention  this.  It  is  not  my 
present  purpose  to  illustrate,  at  large,  what  may 
be  gained  from  a  genuine  experience  of  evangelical 
faith.  There  is,  indeed,  one  result  from  this  dis- 
cussion which  cannot  be  passed  over,  viz.,  that  in 
the  arrangement  of  human  affairs  by  a  Divine 
Providence,  the  lapse  of  time,  according  to  human 
modes  of  calculation,  is  of  little  account.  The  time 
which  has  passed  may  be  infinitesimal,  in  compari- 
son with  the  great  future  of  human  existence  upon 
this  earth.  It  is  true  the  apostles  supposed  the  end 
of  the  world  near  at  hand — ^but  a  long  progression 
has  since  taken  place,  and  we  are  now  warranted  in 
supposing  that  it  will  go  on  until  a  renovation  of 
the  entire  human  race  shall  have  been  accomplished . 

I  may  say  here  that  an  error  of  the  first  disciples, 
in  respect  to  the  termination  of  the  system  to  which 
human  life  is  subject,  does  not  involve  the  assump- 
tion that  they  were,  therefore,  mistaken  in  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  human  responsibility  is  to  be  deter- 
mined. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  245 

We  are  rather  led  to  the  conclusion,  which  is  in 
analogy  with  all  the  history  of  the  human  race,  that 
the  course  of  renovation  is  progressive,  and  that  a 
long  period  may  elapse  before  the  character  of  men 
shall  be  brought  up  to  the  standard  prescribed  by 
our  Saviour — nor,  perhaps,  is  it  possible  that  it  shall 
ever  attain  to  it.  It  may  be  that  a  general  approxi- 
mation is  all  that  is  to  be  hoped. 


PROBATION    OF   LIFE. 

(CONTTNtrED,) 

SUCCESSIVE    CHANGES — OLD    AGE DEATH. 


The  periodical  change  in  tlie  progress  of  life  in- 
volves a  principle  somewhat  different  from  the  trial 
incident  to  every  part  of  life,  from  pain  of  body. 
When  no  accident  intervenes,  there  is  a  regular  pro- 
gression from  infancy  to  old  age.  Every  part  of  this 
is  indeed  subject  to  pain,  disease,  and  death.  It  is 
the  exception,  rather  than  the  general  rule,  that 
any  one  shall  reach  to  old  age.  Accidents  and 
acute  diseases  terminate  the  lives  of  the  larger 
number  before  arriving  at  old  age.  Hence,  Mon- 
taigne insisted  that  it  was  as  natural  to  die  early  as 
late,  and  by  a  violent  death,  as  by  the  infirmity  of 
old  age  ;  nay,  even  more  so,  because  the  majority 
of  mankind  do  not  live  beyond  middle  life.  Cicero, 
on  the  other  hand,  denied  that  Nature  could  be  sup- 
posed to  have  neglected  her  own  work,  and  compa- 
ring human  life  to  a  drama,  that  it  could  not  be 
supposed  the  fifth  act  would  be  neglected.  Old  age 
he  therefore  considered  to  be  the  natural  consum- 
mation of  life,  "  tanquam  arbor um  haccis  terrceque 
frugibus  maturitate  tempestiva  quasi  vietum  et  ca- 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQCTIEIES.         247 

ducum''  (like  to  the  production  of  trees  and  the  fruit 
of  the  earth,  bending  under  the  weight  of  autumnal 
maturity.) 

It  is  indeed  true,  that  there  is  an  apparent  order 
of  nature,  which  is  developed  in  the  successive  pe- 
riods of  human  life,  old  age  being  the  consummation 
of  a  completed  course.  But,  when  we  consider  how 
few  of  all  that  have  lived  attained  to  the  prescribed 
limit  which,  according  to  this  theory,  is  necessary 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  purpose  of  life,  it  be- 
comes obvious  that,  as  respects  the  largest  part  of 
our  race,  it  was  not  designed  that  they  should  live 
through  any  particular  period,  which  should  have  in 
itself  a  completeness  for  any  specific  object.  On  the 
contrary,  life  is  determined  at  every  stage  of  exist- 
ence— most  frequently  in  infancy  and  childhood. 
All  that  can  be  said,  therefore,  is,  that  in  the  com- 
paratively small  number  of  cases  in  which  old  age 
is  arrived  at,  there  is  a  more  perfect  course  of  life. 

To  that  period,  when  it  is  attained,  the  following 
observations  will  apply  :  Old  age  is  not  necessarily 
a  state  of  imbecility  ;  the  vices  of  youth  may,  in- 
deed, produce  a  wreck  of  the  mind  as  well  as  de- 
crepitude of  the  body,  but  the  weakness  of  old  age, 
which  is  not  affected  by  such  causes,  is  in  itself  re- 
spectable. Senile  garrulity  is  indeed  proverbial  as 
something  belonging  to  old  age,  but  a  proper  exer- 
cise of  our  faculties  will  prevent  any  disgusting  dis- 
play of  worn-out  nature.     "  Arma  senectutis  artes 


248         ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAI.    INQUIRIES. 

enercitationes  que  virtutum"  (the  arms  for  the  de- 
fence of  old  age  are  exercises  of  the  mind  in  the  vir- 
tues of  life,  and  the  rational  employment  of  our 
faculties.)  A  virtuous  life  and  proper  employment 
of  the  mind,  will  insure  that  happy  old  age  which 
is  like  the  frugiferous  autumn. 

Disease,  however,  is  incident  to  every  stage  of  life, 
and  whenever  it  occurs,  whether  early  or  late,  it  is 
genitive  of  the  same  discipline.  The  same  prin- 
ciples may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  applicable  to 
every  stage  of  life,  when  infirmity  of  body  intervenes. 
One  general  remark  is  all  I  have  to  add  to  what  has 
been  already  sufficiently  developed,  viz.,  that  there 
is  a  mysterious  provision  in  the  constitution  of  our 
nature,  by  which  pain,  decline  of  health,  and  the 
process  of  extinction  of  life,  in  whatever  period  it 
may  occur,  has  its  alleviations — not  derived  from 
speculations  of  philosophers,  nor  from  any  resources 
of  recondite  learning.  An  uneducated  man  has  in 
himself  a  secret  power  of  bearing  pain,  and  of  look- 
ing calmly  upon  the  dissolution  of  his  corporeal 
frame,  equal  to  what  Seneca  attained  by  all  his 
erudite  meditations. 

Montaigne  has  noticed,  with  his  usual  discrimi- 
nation, how  little  difference  there  is  between  the 
peasant  and  the  scholar  in  the  capacity  to  endure 
the  trials  of  life,  and  hence  deduces  the  fact  that 
philosophy  (meaning  by  that  the  speculations  of 
learned  men)  is  of  very  little  practical  use. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.       249 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  death 
The  greatest  trial  of  life  is  the  thought,  which  is 
continually  forced  upon  us,  that  we  must  die. 

Is  it  not  mysterious,  nay,  one  of  the  greatest 
problems  of  life,  that  all  men  fear  death  ?  though, 
as  Bacon  says,  ^' it  is  as  natural  to  die  as  to  be 
born."  This  fear,  in  most  men,  is  perhaps  not 
overdrawn  by  the  great  poet : 

The  weariest  and  most  loathed  worldly  life 
That  age,  aehe,  penury,  and  imprisonment, 
Can  lay  on  nature,  is  a  paradise 
To  what  we  fear  of  death, 

Shakespeare. — Measure  for  Measure. 

It  is  not  easy  to  decide  whether  the  apprehension 
of  the  pain  and  shock  of  dying,  or  a  revulsion  at 
the  untried  and  unknown  future  which  lies  beyond, 
has  most  eiFect  to  oppress  the  mind. 

There  is,  doubtless,  exaggeration  of  the  suffering 
endured  in  the  pangs  of  death ;  but  there  is,  per- 
haps, greater  dread  of  the  mysterious  change  of  ex- 
istence which  is  to  take  place,  of  which  our  experi- 
ence furnishes  no  analogy.  We  do,  indeed,  have  a 
partial  suspension  of  the  functions  of  life  in  sleep 
— yet  vitality  is  not  suspended — the  pulsation  of 
the  heart,  the  regular  inflation  and  compression  of 
the  lungs,  the  warmth  and  softness  of  our  fleshy 
fibre,  voluntary  motion  not  wholly  intermitted,  and, 
finally,  a  consciousness  of  an  easy  play  of  the  mind, 
as  if  acted  upon  by  exterior  sensation — these  take 
from  what  is  called  the  image  of  death  all  that  ap- 


250        ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

pal  US  in  the  cold,  unbreathing,  and  stiffened  form 
which  death  presents  to  our  view. 

I  believe  (although  it  is  but  a  hypothesis)  that 
our  dread  of  death  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  circum- 
stances of  contrast  with  what  belong  to,  and  are 
essential  to  life.  Dissolution  is  preceded  by  the 
loss  of  the  control  which  the  mind  has  had  over  its 
corporeal  organism — ^it  is  consummated  by  the  ex- 
tinction of  all  the  outward  signs  of  sensation.  Yet, 
still  we  cannot,  in  looking  at  the  lifeless  body,  put 
away  the  habitual  association  by  which  the  invisi- 
ble life  is  indissolubly  joined,  in  our  thought,  with 
the  exterior  form  and  features  which  have  been  the 
visible  expression  of  whatever  constituted  the  indi- 
vidual. Hence  we  still  look  upon  those  lineaments 
which  have,  to  our  eyes,  represented  the  living  being, 
rigid  though  they  have  now  become,  and  cannot 
separate  in  idea  the  life  from  the  form  which  it 
animated.  We  cannot  conceive  of  annihilation — 
nor  can  we  wholly  realize  disjunction  of  life  from 
that  which  was  the  living,  sentient,  and  acting  cor- 
poreal form.  Unconsciously  perhaps,  at  least  with- 
out any  distinct  analysis  of  the  thought,  we  still 
attribute  some  sort  of  sensation  to  the  inanimate 
body.  We  involuntarily  shudder  at  committing  to 
the  cold  ground  the  delicate  form,  once  so  carefully 
guarded  from  exposure  to  the  inclemency  of  winter 
and  the  damp  evening  air — and  we  feel  oppressed  in 
thinking  of  the  close  coffin,  and  of  the  compact 
^earth  piled  above  it. 


ETHICAL    AND    rHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.       251 

Keason  as  we  will,  such  thoughts  will  rush  upon 
the  mind  when  we  think  of  death.  It  was  not  mere 
poetical  invention  that  assumed  a  sort  of  sentient 
existence  as  belonging  to  the  dead.  The  Egyptian 
believed  it.  The  Jewish  prophets,  though  divinely 
taught,  still  used  language  and  imagery  that  prove 
how  deeply  they  had  been  impressed  by  a  similar 
idea.     (See  Isai.,  14  ;  Ezekiel,  32.) 

In  the  contemplation  of  death,  those  who  are  in 
the  vigor  of  health  have  more  fear  than  those  who  are 
feeble  or  diseased.  The  reason  is,  that  the  contem- 
plation is  familiar  to  the  latter,  while  it  is  forced 
upon  the  former  only  upon  extraordinary  occasions  ; 
and,  again,  the  contrast  is  more  striking  between 
the  full  enjoyment  of  all  our  powers,  and  the  state 
of  inanition  in  death,  than  there  is  when  we  already 
feel  the  loss  of  a  considerable  part  of  what  has  con- 
stituted our  life.  But  it  is  also  true,  that  in  health 
we  do  not  often  think  of  death  at  all. 

There  is  one  consideration  which  should  have  a 
great  influence  in  reconciling  us  to  the  thought  of 
death,  and  imparting  to  us  equanimity  when  we  find 
it  approaching.  It  is  that  the  weak  and  timid,  the 
delicate  and  sensitive  woman,  the  child  gently 
guarded  by  parental  care,  have  to  pass  through 
whatever  we  fear  in  death,  and  that  the  fragile  and 
helpless,  as  well  as  the  strong  in  heart,  must  enter 
into  the  gloom  and  mystery  which  envelop  the  scenes 
of  the  invisible  world — and  not  merely  in  the  midst 
of  friends,  and  with  all  tiac  solaces  of  affectionate 
11* 


252         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

care,  but  how  often  in  the  midst  of  the  terrors  of 
violence,  in  the  dark  tempest  and  raging  ocean,  or 
in  the  fury  of  conflagration,  or  in  the  more  fearful 
scenes  of  human  outrage  ? 

Shall  we  shrink  back  from  death  in  its  ordinary- 
forms,  when  it  has  been  endured  by  countless  num- 
bers of  our  fellow  beings  under  the  aggravation  of 
all  that  is  terrible  to  think  of  ? 

Kecall  the  memory  of  the  loved  ones  who  have 
gone  before  us  in  this  last  trial  of  human  life  ;  the 
sister,  lovely  in  form  and  angelic  in  her  disposition  ; 
the  child,  trustful  in  its  parents'  love  ;  the  wife, 
mother,  friend — beings  whose  affections  were  inter- 
twined with  our  own — who  in  life  were,  perhaps, 
girded  by  our  sympathy  and  sustained  by  our 
stronger  resolution,  yet  parted  from  us  to  enter 
alone  upon  the  experience  of  what  is  so  appalling  in 
thought,  even  to  the  strong-minded. 

It  will  be  an  appropriate  conclusion  of  this  essay 
to  recur  to  that  surest  solace  of  the  soul  in  all  the 
trials  of  life,  viz.,  a  true  Christian  faith.  It  would 
be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  in  this  is  to  be  found 
a  solution  of  all  the  mysteries  that  environ  us.  It 
consists,  not  of  speculative  knowledge,  but  of  trust 
in  God.  "  Thoa  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace 
whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee"  (Isai.,  xxvi,  3),  said 
the  devout  prophet.  But  there  are  degrees  of  faith. 
We  may  believe  that  all  things  are  ordered  by  a  wise 
Providence — but  it  is  another  thing  to  feel  a  per- 
sonal affinity  to  God — to  be  in  communion  with 


ETniCAL     AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        253 

Him,  and  to  have  the  consciousness  of  his  paternal 
goodness  extended  to  us  individually.  The  soul, 
imperfectly  enlightened  hy  divine  truth,  may  still  he 
subject  to  distressing  doubts  respecting  many  things, 
the  solution  of  which  has  always  baffled  mere  human 
reason,  and  to  fears  as  to  the  future,  such  as  disturb 
the  unrenewed  mind. 

But  against  all  such  fears,  and  against  all  the 
pangs  of  disappointed  hope,  against  every  form  of 
suffering  incident  to  human  life,  the  soul  that  is  at 
peace  with  God  is  fully  armed. 

If  you  are,  indeed,  a  child  of  God,  and  so  far  as 
human  imperfection  allows,  conformed  to  the  divine 
will,  what  cause  is  there  for  fear,  since  the  elements 
of  nature  and  the  course  of  human  life  are  all  sub- 
ject to  that  will  ?  The  turbulence  of  all  the  forces 
of  nature,  the  tempest,  the  flood,  famine,  and 
pestilence,  are  swayed  by  the  power  of  the  Omni- 
potent. 

So,  also,  the  malevolence  of  wicked  men,  why 
should  it  be  feared,  when  we  know  that  the  world  is 
under  the  government  of  a  righteous  Judge  ? 

''  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee,  the 
remainder  of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain"  (Psalms, 
Ixxvi,  7),  and  if  there  be  any  invisible  powers  of  evil 
more  to  be  feared  than  the  wickedness  of  man,  even 
these  are  subject  to  a  higher  power,  by  whose  aid 
we  may  successfully  "  wrestle  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world"  (Eph.,  vi,  12.) 


254         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

Therefore,  the  humblest  disciple  of  Christ,  if  he 
have  that  measure  of  faith  which  we  have  supposed, 
will  have  rest  of  soul  even  if  he  cannot  "  understand 
all  mysteries,'^ — nay,  he  seeks  not  to  understand 
them,  but  reposes  with  child-like  confidence  upon 
Him  ^^  who  is  able  to  keep  that  which  is  committed 
unto  him."     (2  Tim.,  i.,  12.) 

Such  being   the    gracious  gift    which    it    hath 
pleased  God  to  impart   in  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion, it  would  seem  mere  supererogation  to  handle 
any  of  the  enigmas  of  human  life  as  seeking  to  ex- 
plain them  by  human  reason.     And  the  admonition 
of  Bacon  may  here  apply  :     ^'  By  aspiring  to  be  like 
God  in  power,  the  angels  transgressed  and  fell — by 
aspiring  to  be  like  God  in  knowledge,  man  trans- 
gressed and  fell '/'  and  certainly  the  inquiry  into  the 
plan  and  purpose  of  Divine  Providence,  in  the  af- 
fairs of  this  world,  when  we  know  not  their  relation 
with  the  past  or  future,  is  full  of  peril.      But  the 
object  I  had  in  view  was  different.     It  was  rather 
to  fix  the  proper  limit  of  inquiry,  by  showing  the 
perplexity  that  must  still  remain  after  exhausting 
all  the  arguments  of  human  reason,  and  having  in 
view  chiefiy  the  advantage  of  those  who  presump- 
tuously set  up  reason  as  being  adequate  to  resolve 
all  questions.     The  self-sufficiency  of  the  worldly 
mind  will  slightly  heed  evangelical  truth  until  its 
own  airy  fabrics  are  shown  to  be  entirely  without 
basis. 


NEUROMATHY.* 


The  nervous  system  has  been  a  late  discovery 
of  anatomists.  The  diseases  of  that  system,  which 
are  now  admitted  to  be  the  most  formidable  that 
physicians  are  called  to  treat,  were  formerly  sup- 
posed to  be  mere  old  maidish  whims,  and  were  de- 
signated by  the  expressive  term  of  Hypo  or  Spleen, 
the  first  of  which  terms  was  a  mere  abbreviation  of 
^'  Hypochondrium,"  the  epigastric  region  where  the 
spleen  is  situated  ;  and  the  reference  of  both  of  the 
terms  being  to  an  organ  the  office  of  which  is,  even 
to  this  time,  entirely  unknown,  and  therefore  sup- 
posed to  have  no  function  at  all.  There  is  some 
practical  wisdom,  therefore,  in  the  popular  idea  that 
an  indolent  man  is  splenetic,  that  is  to  say,  that 
having  no  energy  of  character,  he  is  visionary — 
without  purpose — and  occupied  with  thoughts  of  no 
actual  value. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  developments  of  men- 
tal action  by  preternatural  nervous  influence, 
have  always  been,  by  a  strange  inconsistency,  looked 

•  From  vtvpov  (nerve)  and  naOeia  (knowledge.)    I  use  the  term  for  convenience 
la  expressing  the  modern  Bcience  of  the  nervous  system. 


256        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

Upon  as  traits  of  genius — or,  if  a  religious  element 
was  intermingled,  there  was  a  superstitious  credence 
of  divine  illumination.  Persons  disordered  in  mind 
were  supposed,  by  the  Komans,  to  have  the  power  of 
presaging  future  events.* 

Witches  have  invariably  had  the  endowment  of  a 
crazed  mind.  It  was  necessary,  however,  to  have  a 
fierce  insanity — ^but  imbecility  would  do,  if  it  was  of 
the  maudlin  kind.  To  be  old  and  hag-like,  and 
rickety  of  body  and  mind,  was,  in  the  days  of  witch- 
craft, sufficient  evidence  of  a  communication  with 
spirits,  though,  of  course,  it  was  supposed  to  be  with 
the  evil  sort. 

I  have  mentioned  that  the  nervous  part  of  the 
human  organism  was,  until  a  recent  period,  com- 
paratively latent.  The  muscular  bodies  of  our  an- 
cestors, hardened  by  exercise  and  exposure,  had 
little  of  the  sensibility  which  belongs  to  the  refined 
corporeal  structure  of  the  present  time.  Now,  the 
incessant  stir  of  the  mind,  the  habitual  excitement 
in  which  we  live  corresponding  with  the  railroad 
speed  of  travelling,  and  the  transmission  of  thought 
by  telegraph,  have  brought  about  an  exterior  de- 
velopment of  the  nerves  ;  a  higher  degree  of  sen- 
sibility is  diffused  over  the  whole  superfices  of  the 


•They  were  called  "Ceriti,'  because  Ceres  was  supposed  to  deprive  her  wor- 
shippers of  their  reason  (Hor.  Sat.,  lib,  ii.  s.  3,  378) ;  sometimes  "  Larvati"  (Lar- 
varum  pieni — that  is,  disturbed  by  communications  with  ghosts — larvis  et  speo~ 
tria  extemiti) ;  sometimes  "  Lymphatic! "  (Ae.  vii.,  377  ;  Liv.  vii.,  17) ,  from  the 
Buppositiou  of  their  having  been  the  efSgies  of  water  nymphs. 


ETHICAI.   AND   PHTSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         257 

body,  and  a  susceptibility,  formerly  unknown,  now 
belongs  to  the  whole  interior  nervous  ramification. 
It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  there  is  greater  facility 
of  receiving  external  impressions — greater  mobility 
of  feeling  and  flexibility  of  purpose — ^more  versatile 
thought  and  emotion,  but  superficial,  and  lacking 
consistency  and  intensity. 

It  follows  that  whatever  stimulates  nervous  ac- 
tion acts  now  HomceopathicaUyji.  e.,  in  infinitesimal 
proportion.'^  Alcohol,  Opium,  and  Tobacco,  are 
the  principal  artificial  stimulants  of  the  nerves. 
Stramonium,  Hyosciamus,  and  some  other  vegeta- 
ble poisons,  have  a  powerful  efiect,  but  they  are 
used  only  as  medicines. 

Indian  Hemp  is  largely  used  in  Asiatic  countries 
and  in  Egypt.  Marvellous  efiects  from  its  use  are 
reported,  but  it  is  likely  that  the  peculiar  habits  in 
that  part  of  the  world  may  have  much  to  do  there- 
with. The  European  constitution  does  not  appear 
to  be  operated  on  in  the  same  degree  ;  at  any  rate, 
the  use  of  this  narcotic  has  not  prevailed  much, 
north  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  common  hemp  of  this  country  has  narcotic 
properties,  but  the  article  above  mentioned  is  a  wild 
hemp,  which  is  found  largely  in  India  and  Egypt, 
and  the  provinces  in  the  Levant.     The  scientific 

•  I  use  the  term  in  a  popular  sense.  Etymologically,  Homoeopathy  has  no  refer- 
ence to  quantity  of  inedicine,  but  only  to  the  kind— the  principle  being  that  dis- 
ease is  to  be  overcome  by  aggravation,  as  a  crying  child  la  overcome  by  the  louder 
vociferation  of  the  nurse. 


258         ETHICAL   AND    PIiYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

name  is  Cannabis.  In  Asia  Minor  it  is  called 
Banque,  in  Egypt  Assis,  whence  is  derived  the 
term  Hashish,  by  which  it  has  become  more  gene- 
rally known.  It  seems  probable  that  it  was  known 
and  used  in  Phrygia  by  the  heathen  priests. 

All  peculiarities  of  the  physical  organism  are 
hereditary.  The  ghastly  aspect  of  the  inebriate 
wiU  not  be  more  surely  reproduced  in  the  pallid 
and  woe-stricken  faces  of  his  children,  than  the 
nervous  susceptibility  of  the  parent  will  have  a 
congenital  development  in  his  offspring.  How 
much  of  suffering,  how  much  also  of  the  illumina- 
tion, the  lawless  imaginations,  the  spiritual  visions, 
which  attract  so  much  popular  regard,  is  due  to  an- 
cestral vice,  would  be  a  curious  subject  of  inquiry. 

I  shall  not  attempt  any  elaborate  analysis,  but 
merely  refer  to  some  striking  illustrations  of  the 
proposition  I  have  referred  to. 

Yon  Helmont,  who  lived  long  before  the  sup- 
posed modern  device  of  producing  mesmeric  sleep, 
was,  in  fact,  the  inventor  of  the  whole  contrivance 
— ^but  he  is  chiefly  worthy  of  recollection  from  the 
fact  that  he  once  fell  into  a  spiritual  state,  and  re- 
ported that  he  saw  his  own  soul  seated  in  his  belly. 
We  learn,  from  his  own  narrative,  that  this  was 
the  effect  of  a  large  dose  of  Aconite. 

The  Pythonesses  of  the  ancient  oracles,  as  we  are 
now  authorized  to  believe,  derived  their  inspiration 
from  the  use  of  narcotic  substances,  either  eaten  in  a 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUEBIES.         259 

crude  state  or  inhaled  in  a  gaseous  form.  Phrygia, 
which  furnished  a  large  proportion  of  heathen  priests 
and  priestesses,  was  celebrated  for  its  poisons,  and 
for  the  skill  in  the  use  of  them  which  was  pos- 
sessed by  those  who  were  devoted  to  the  service  of 
the  gods. 

That  sort  of  knowledge  has,  in  fact,  in  every  age, 
belonged  to  Sagas,  Sorcerers,  and  others  pretend- 
ing to  inspiration.  Even  Christianity,  at  an  early 
period,  was  somewhat  involved  in  the  mysticism 
connected  with  this  art.  The  same  development 
that  has  been  referred  to  as  peculiar  to  the  heathen 
priesthood,  was  exhibited  in  some  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians residing  in  Phrygia.  Thus,  Montanus  set  him- 
self up  for  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  his  followers, 
among  whom  was  the  celebrated  Tertullian,  believed 
that  they  were  themselves  divinely  illuminated.  As 
the  sect  was  of  Phrygian  origin,  it  may  be  presumed 
that  the  illumination  was  similar  to  what  had  ex- 
isted under  the  heathen  regime. 

It  is  interesting,  in  this  connection,  to  observe 
the  distinction  made  by  the  Greeks  between  the 
ipviprj  and  the  Trvejia — the  animal  soul  and  spirit — 
the  former  of  which  is  designated  by  the  apostle 
Paul  as  earthly,  and  by  the  apostle  James  as 
sensual/'^ 

In  speculating  upon  the  influence  of  one  mind 


*  1  Cor.,  ii,  14;  James,  iii,  15.    So  again  in  1  Tiiess.,  v,  xxiii,  the  constituents 
of  man's  nature  are  designated  aa  spirit^  soul,  and  body. 


260       ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

over  another,  it  should  be  noticed  that  the  power 
is  much  greater  for  a  bad  purpose  than  a  good  one 
— there  being  a  natural  proclivity  of  the  soul  to 
evil. 

The  supposed  inspiration  which,  according  to  the 
theory  I  have  suggested,  has  its  origin  in  a  disor- 
ordered  nervous  system,  has,  nevertheless,  some- 
thing of  grandeur. 

Even  the  heathen  Sybil  of  Cumse  assumed  a  di- 
vine sublimity,  and  denounced  all  profane  famili- 
arity with  the  awful  secrets  of  the  spirit  world — 

"  Procul  O  procul  este  profani, " 

was  her  language,  in  the  narrative  of  Yirgil.* 

When  Luther  was  asked  how  the  pretensions  of 
the  prophets  of  Zwickhau  to  inspiration  could  be 
tested,  his  answer  was,  ^*  Ask  them  if  they  have 
known  those  heavings  of  the  soul,  those  pangs  of 
the  new  creation,  those  deaths  and  hells  which  be- 
long to  regeneration.  It  behooved  our  Lord,  through 
the  sufferings  of  death,  to  enter  into  glory,  and  so 
must  every  true  believer,  through  the  tribulation 
of  his  sins,  attain  unto  rest." 

I  proceed,  however,  to  the'  treatment  more  in  de- 
tail of  the  physical  process  whereby  the  nerves  are 
acted  upon  by  external  influences,  the  effect  of 
which  is  transmitted  to  the  heart  or  brain,  produ- 

*  M.,  lib.  6. 


ETHIOAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         261 

cing  upon  the  former  an  accelerated  but  irregular 
systole  and  diastole,  and  upon  the  latter  a  coma, 
which  may,  perhaps,  be  deemed  a  congestion  rather 
than  what  was  formerly  supposed  an  illuminated 
vigil. 

I  have  referred  to  the  power  of  narcotic  stimu- 
lants. There  is  still  another  element,  which  is  of 
modern  origin,  and  has  a  larger  operation  in  this 
country.  It  is  a  common-place  remark,  that  our 
habit  of  life  has  become  intensified  by  the  eager 
pursuit  of  business.  This  activity  has  been  set 
down,  by  some  writers,  to  the  effect  of  our  climate, 
but  it  is  an  imperfect  solution ;  for,  1st,  the  aborigi- 
nes were  unemotional,  that  is,  were  habitually  self- 
possessed,  even  stolid,  as  we  would  say  of  men 
of  our  own  race  who  are  subject  to  no  quick 
impulses,  and  are  unaffected  by  social  impulse  ;  2d, 
the  restlessness  displayed  by  our  people  has  been 
also  seen  in  later  years,  to  some  extent,  in  the  older 
nations  of  Europe,  particularly  those  with  whom  we 
have  much  commercial  intercourse,  viz.,  England, 
France,  and  Germany. 

Making,  however,  due  allowance  for  these  con- 
siderations, it  still  may  perhaps  be  true,  that  our 
climate  Jias,  by  its  sharp  alternations,  a  considerable 
effect  upon  the  physical  system  of  our  people.  A 
more  important  influence  may,  however,  be  referred 
to  the  unchecked  freedom  allowed  in  this  country  to 
every  man  of  pursuing  whatever  business  he  chooses. 


262         ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

and  the  great  remuneration  which  is  offered  to  per- 
severing enterprise.  It  is  possible  for  a  man  in  very 
humble  life  to  attain  to  the  highest  public  position. 
Wealth  is  the  great  power  ;  it  is  also  more  gener- 
ally attainable  than  any  other  means  of  influence, 
at  least  is  more  open  to  the  general  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple. For  professional  eminence  some  advantages 
of  education  are  required,  but  in  the  pursuit  of 
wealth  all  that  is  necessary  is  industry  and  practical 
sense. 

This,  then,  is  a  principle  deeply  implanted  in  our 
entire  population  ;  its  motive  power  was  at  first 
moderate,  but  it  has  been  constantly  accelerated  by 
the  strife  of  competition,  the  constantly  increasing 
momentum  of  pressure  from  foreign  emigration,  and 
the  rapidly  multiplying  indigenous  population, 
and  by  the  encouragement  which  individual  success 
in  obtaining  almost  fabulous  riches,  holds  out  to  the 
common  mind.  To  this  has  been  recently  added 
the  vastly  increased  facilities  of  trade,  telegraphic 
communication,  railroad  transit,  &c.  Changes  in 
market  now  occur  with  a  rapidity  that  requires  in- 
cessant watchfulness.  The  same  causes  affect  all 
branches  of  business  ;  we  are  put  into  a  hurry  by 
seeing  others  in  haste.  In  addition  to  this,  it  is  my 
opinion  that  an  undue  proportion  of  our  population 
has  been  thrown  into  trade  and  the  professions — 
perhaps  I  should  say  into  the  profession  of  law. 
The  number  of  ministers  and  doctors  must  be  limi- 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.        263 

ted  by  the  public  demand,  but  lawyers  can  make 
business — and,  besides,  they  almost  universally  go 
into  political  affairs  ;  the  pursuit  of  office  is,  indeed, 
peculiar  to  the  legal  profession.  Mr.  Jefferson, 
though  himself  bred  a  lawyer,  had  a  low  opinion  of  the 
utility  of  lawyers  in  public  bodies,  of  which  (at  least 
of  legislatures)  they  constitute  a  large  proportion. 

I  have  said,  however,  enough  upon  the  principle 
involved.  The  general  habit  in  this  country  is  an 
overtasking  of  body  and  mind.  The  merchant  works 
from  an  early  to  a  late  hour,  and  takes  his  cares  and 
anxieties  with  him  when  he  returns  home.  If  he 
travels  he  will  go  at  night,  in  order  to  save  time  ; 
in  fact,  it  is  a  custom  of  the  greater  part  of  our  peo- 
ple that  travelling  by  railroad  is,  for  the  most  part, 
done  at  night.  Even  when  recreation  is  the  object, 
great  distances  are  travelled  without  respite  ;  the 
night  train  is  often  resorted  to,  sometimes  for  the 
sake  of  economy,  but  more  frequently  on  account  of 
hurry,  when,  in  fact,  there  is  nothing  requiring  dis- 
patch. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  illustrate  at  any  consid- 
erable length  a  political  or  social  question.  I  have 
to  do  only  with  a  physiological  fact.  As  Shake- 
speare says,  in  the  mock  play  in  Hamlet,  in  which 
Pyrrhus  is  described — 

"Head  to  foot 
Now  is  he  total  gules,"  ' 

SO   may   we  say   of  these  hurried  travellers,    that 


264        ETHICAL  AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

their  nervous  system  becomes  preternaturally  de- 
veloped ;  in  fact,  by  constant  pressure  and  over  ac- 
tion, the  nerves  become  more  exterior- — a  process  like 
exposing  to  the  open  air  the  delicate  and  recondite 
parts  of  our  system.  The  immediate  subject  of 
illustration  is,  however,  the  inward  eiFect  of  the 
breaking  up  or  impairing  the  outward  sense.  It 
is  quite  obvious  that  the  surge  of  human  popula- 
tion must  often  dash  upon  shallow,  or  upon  rocky 
shores,  and  make  wreck  of  many  adventurers.  My 
office  is  only  to  take  notice  of  this  great  commotion 
of  the  social  elements — the  rush  and  refluence  of 
human  tides.  There  is  incessant  change  ;  indeed, 
nothing  can  be  said  to  be  constant.  Even  the 
wealth  that  is  accumulated  by  a  long  life  of  succes- 
ful  enterprise  is  speedily  dissipated  by  the  next 
generation.  There  seems  to  be  no  further  develop- 
ment to  be  looked  for  in  active  enterprise — it  has 
already  passed  beyond  the  limit  within  which 
health  and  comfort  are  circumscribed. 

According  to  the  witty  sketch  entitled  '^The 
Year  Three  Thousand,"*  muscular  development  is 
represented  as  being  effected  with  reference  to  a 
single  purpose,  being  in  accordance  with  the  received 
axiom  as  to  division  of  labor — thus  a  blacksmith 
being  gigantic  in  arms  but  shrivelled  in  legs,  while 
dancers  have  an  expansion  of  legs  but  diminished 
chest  and  arms.     So  our  nervous  susceptibility  has, 

•  *'  Harpere'  Magazine." 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQIJIRIES.        265 

as  it  were,  brought  out  that  part  of  our  interior 
organism  which  was  till  recently  unknown  to  physi- 
ologists, to  such  a  degree  that  it  has  become  subject 
to  every  "  skyey  influence/'  and  makes  up  a  large 
proportion  of  the  misery  to  which  the  civilized  part 
of  our  race  is  subject. 


INSPIKATION. 

HOW  DIVINE  KNOWLEDGE  IS  IMPARTED WHAT  COM- 
MUNICATION MAY  THERE  BE  WITH  BEINGS  OF  A 
HIGHER    ORDER   THAN    THE    HUMAN. 


Eeligious  faith,  has  become,  at  the  present  day, 
so  much  more  firm  and  rational  than  it  has  been  in 
former .  times,  that  I  have  no  hesitation  in  discuss- 
ing a  proposition,  which  is  involved  in  every  Chris- 
tian creed,  with  the  same  candor  and  fearlessness  of 
the  result  that  I  would  have  in  the  investigation  of 
any  psychological  theory.  It  may  obviate  any 
timid  apprehension  of  danger,  from  this  unre- 
served mode  of  dealing  with  a  question  heretofore 
deemed  sacred  and  mysterious,  and  far  removed 
from  human  inquiry,  by  stating  in  the  inception 
of  this  brief  argument,  that  I  have,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  my  ability,  sounded  all  the  depths  of  skep- 
ticism, and  have  adventured  upon  inquiry  into  all 
that  has  been  suggested  by  the  opponents  of  our 
faith,  so  far  as  they  have  been  brought  to  my  knowl- 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIKIES.        267 

edge  by  diligent  reading  during  many  years,  and 
that  the  result  has  been  an  entire  confirmation  of 
my  early  belief,  though  the  grounds  upon  which  it 
rests  are  quite  different  from  those  which  once  ap- 
peared to  me  sufficient.  I  cannot  but  think,  there- 
fore, that  I  shall  render  no  disservice  to  the  faith 
which  I  venerate  if  I  state  tersely  the  mode  of  argu- 
ment by  which  I  have  solved,  satisfactorily  to  my- 
self, the  question  involved  in  the  inquiries  I  have 
referred  to. 

Inspiration  may  be  either  direct  dictation  of 
language,  or  it  may  be  the  effect  of  deep  devotion 
and  intimate  communion  with  God  in  thought.  In 
the  latter  sense,  which  I  take  to  be  the  true  hypo- 
thesis, we  have  good  authority  in  respect  to  all  the 
sacred  writers  for  considering  their  doctrines  and 
precepts  as  emanating  from  God  himself ;  but  we 
have  the  right  to  repose  with  greater  faith  upon 
some  than  upon  others,  according  to  the  measure  of 
divine  influence  by  which  they  seem  to  be  actuated, 
and  this  we  must  judge  of  by  evidence  appreciable 
by  human  reason. 

As  to  facts  not  essential  to  the  moral  truth  incul- 
cated, we  may  suppose  them  to  be  mere  illustrations 
by  the  inspired  writer,  derived  from  his  own  knowl- 
edge, and  not  more  inspired  than  the  words  that  he 
uses. 

The  apostle  indeed  says,  that  "  all  Scripture  is 
given  by  inspiration  of  God''  (2  Tim.,  iii,  16),  but 

12 


268       ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQULRIES. 

this  cannot  mean  that  all  was  equally  inspired,  or 
that  everything  contained  in  them  was  so.^*^ 

Again,  it  was  said,  "  there  is  a  spirit  in  man^  and 
the  Almighty  giveth  him  understanding  "  (Job, 
xxxii,  8.)  This  plainly  is  an  inspiralion  of  which 
all  men  in  some  degree  partake.  We  may  conceive 
the  sacred  writers  to  be  more  largely  endowed  by 
the  same  sort  of  inspiration  but  yet  subject  to  hu- 
man error  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  they  were  more 
highly  gifted  with  religious  perception,  but  not 
more  than  other  men  with  natural  or  merely  hu- 
man knowledge. 

As  commonly  understood,  inspiration  is  an  in- 
ternal communication,  not  derived  through  the  ordi- 
nary modes  of  acquiring  knowledge — that  is  to  say, 
not  from  sight  or  hearing,  or  other  senses,  but  that 
it  is  an  impression  upon  the  mind  by  some  process 
independent  of  all  bodily  or  sensorial  agency — and 
in  this  respect,  being  the  same  as  it  would  be  if  the 
soul  were  entirely  disconnected  with  the  body. 

It  is  true,  that  what  is  expressed  by  the  inspired 
writers  is  often  represented  as  having  been  spoken 
by  God  himself,  but  I  take  the  true  construction  to 
be,  when  this  form  is  used,  that  it  is  merely  adopt- 
ing a  mode  of  speech  whereby  God  is  supposed  to 


•  I  have  quoted  from  the  common  version,  hut  it  admits  of  no  doubt  that  the 
proper  translation  is,  "  all  inspired  Scripture  is  profitable,"  &c. ;  referring  to  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  were  received  as  inspired.  The  fair  conEtruew 
tion  of  the  text  referred  to  is,  that  the  books  then  received  as  divine  (which  are  aleo 
included  io  our  canon)  were  inspired. 


ETHICAL   AJN^D   PHYSIOLOGICAL    IN  QUERIES.  269 

say  directly  wliat  has,  in  fact,  been  only  communi- 
cated to  the  writer.  The  question  still  recurs,  how 
did  he  receive  such  communication,  and  it  will  be 
difficult  to  answer  it,  except  upon  the  assumption 
above  referred  to,  viz.,  a  direct  inspiration,  without 
the  intervention  of  speech. 

An  objection  to  this  assumption  may  occur, 
that  there  is  a  want  of  a  reliable  test  as  to  the 
truth  of  any  impression  so  received.  It  may  be 
said,  that  we  can  communicate  with  mind  only 
through  the  medium  of  language,  or  expression  by 
the  face,  or  some  exterior  action.  Is  it  not  neces- 
sary that  God  should  communicate  with  us  in  the 
same  way  ?  He  can,  indeed,  miraculously  create 
faculties  that  we  have  not — but  that  would  be  to 
make  a  new  being  differing  from  the  human,  and 
the  thoughts  of  such  a  being  would  be  incompre- 
hensible to  others  not  endowed  in  like  manner,  or 
if  they  could  be  comprehended,  .what  test  should  we 
have,  such  as  we  apply  in  judging  of  all  other  com- 
municated knowledge  ? 

The  evidence  in  such  cases  would  be,  perhaps,  no 
greater  than  of  what  occurs  in  a  vision  or  dream,* 


•  The  otgection  is  thus  stated  by  Hobbes :  "  If  a  man  e&ys  that  God  hath  spoken 
to  him  supematarally,  I  cannot  perceive  what  argument  he  can  produce  to  make 
me  believe  it.  •  •  •  To  say  that  He  hath  si>oken  to  him  in  a  dream, 
is  no  more  than  to  say  that  he  dreamed  that  God  spoke  to  him,  which  is  not  of 
force  to  win  belief  from  any  man  that  knows  that  dreams  are,  for  the  most  part, 
natural,  and  may  proceed  from  former  thoughts." — Leviatharu,  chap.  32. 

I  have  no  fear  of  quoting  from  this  redoubted  skeptic  (or,  perhaps  I  ehonld  say 
heretic.)  It  is  no  more  than  an  objection,  fairly  stated,  which  I  think  I  hare  suf- 
ficiently answered. 


270        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

which,  however  strongly  it  may  appear  to  him  upon 
whom  the  impression  is  made,  as  a  reality,  yet  has 
not  the  same  effect  upon  one  to  whom  it  shall  he 
repeated,  because  it  cannot  be  sufficiently  tested  by 
the  ordinary  rules  of  human  evidence. 

Sharon  Turner  has  made  some  observations  upon 
this  subject  that  are  worthy  of  consideration : 
^'  How  can  the  Omnipotent  make  himself  known  to 
us  ?  could  it  be  by  sight  ?  clearly  not  !  He 
might  assume  a  form,  as  the  Jupiter  of  antiquity 
is  said  to  have  done,  but  that  would  give  us  no 
true  idea  of  the  Deity.  That  could  only  be  a  tem- 
porary assumption  of  a  figure  which  could  have  no 
more  to  do  with  his  reality  than  the  Egyptian  Apis, 
or  Phidian  statue,  which  he  was  believed  formerly 
to  reside  in.  All  visual  configuration  could  but  be 
disguises  of  himself.  *  *  No  visual  appearance 
of  the  Deity  could  convey  to  us  his  thoughts  or 
will.  A  voice  must  express  these  to  us  before  we 
could  be  conscious  of  them,  and  this  voice  must  re- 
semble ours,  and  utter  the  same  vocal  sounds  which 
we  use  to  each  other,  and  in  the  same  meanings 
and  phrases — that  is,  the  Deity  must,  for  the  time, 
assume  human  language,  and  speak  in  that  style, 
and  in  those  terms  which  we  are  familiar  with,  and 
address  us  like  a  fellow  human  being,  or  he  would 
be  unintelligible."* 

This  hypothesis  is  clearly  erroneous  in  one  par- 

*  "  Turner's  Sac.  His.,"  iii  420. 


ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         271 

ticular.  Although  our  ordinary  mode  of  acqui- 
ring knowledge  is  by  means  of  language,  or 
some  physiognomic  expression  or  bodily  action, 
visible  to  the  eye,  yet  it  is  certainly  not  the  only 
source.  Thought  may  take  a  vast  range  beyond 
what  has  been  thus  communicated.  It  has  been 
said  that  it  is  limited  to  combinations  of  what 
has  been  seen  or  heard.  It  may  be  so  in  respect  to 
material  objects,  but  it  is  clearly  not  so  in  respect 
to  abstract  truth,  or,  to  speak  more  precisely,  what 
is  perceived  by  the  intellect  without  the  interven- 
tion of  any  exterior  sense  ;  and  this  includes  all 
moral  and  religious  subject?.  How  many  thoughts 
come  to  us  without  any  apparent  connection  with 
the  external,  or  even  with  what  had  previously 
occupied  the  mind ;  how  many  suggestions  for 
good  or  evil,  the  origin  of  which  we  know  not, 
and  which,  therefore,  we  almost  instinctively  at- 
tribute to  some  spiritual  agency. 

What  mode  of  communication  there  may  be  with 
beings  not  having  a  visible  presence,  nor  using 
bodily  organs,  we  know  not.  That  there  must  be, 
is,  however,  certain,  as  we  ourselves  at  death  must 
cease  to  use  corporeal  functions,  at  least  not  the 
same  that  we  have  been  accustomed  to  here.  Again, 
an  interesting  inquiry,  which,  perhaps,  will  forever 
remain  unsolved  in  this  life,  is,  what  is  the  state 
of  the  soul  in  sleep,  or  apparent  unconsciousness, 
caused  by  disease  or  bodily  injury  ?     The  rapidity 


272        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES. 

of  thought  is  such  that  we  may  account  for  dreams 
by  supposing  them  to  have  occurred  while  we  are  in  a 
half- waking  condition,  or  just  as  we  are  coming  out 
of  sleep.  If  this  be  so,  how  is  the  soul  occupied  in 
the  long  intervening  sound  sleep  ?  Is  there  a  sus- 
pension of  its  functions,  like  that  of  the  bodily 
senses  ?  This,  however,  is  to  state  a  comparison 
inaccurately,  for  there  are  no  bodily  powers  or  sen- 
sations but  what  are  derived  from,  and  belong  to, 
the  soul,  or,  at  least,  cannot  exist  without  its 
agency.  All  that  we  know  is,  that  so  far  as  respects 
voluntary  bodily  functions  there  is  a  suspension  or 
quiescence  ;  but  what,  in  the  meantime,  has  become 
of  those  powers  that  are  not  dependent  on  cor- 
poreal action  .^*  May  it  be  that  in  this  rest  of  the 
earthly  frame  the  intellectual  part  of  our  being  is 
left  at  liberty,  and  that  we  have  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions which  are  not  remembered  in  our  waking 
hours  ?  We  can  hardly  suppose  an  entire  absence  of 
the  soul  from  the  body,  for  then  life  would  cease, 
but  may  there  not  be  an  unknown  power,  not  cir- 
cumscribed by  the  limit  of  corporeal  life,  whereby 
the  soul  in  the  sleep  or  inanition  of  the  body  may 
have  communion  with  things  never  perceived  by 
bodily  sense,  and  of  which  the  corporeal  spirit  (by 
which  I  mean  the  soul  in  its  duality  of  sensuous 
and  intellectual  action)  is  wholly  oblivious  ?  There 
would  be  nothing  in  this  more  strange  than  would 

•  I  state  this  in  a  comparatire  sense.    We  are,  as  yet,  imperfectly  informed  of 
the  ezaot  connection  of  the  mind  with  the  brain  and  nerves. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         273 

be  the  pre-existence  of  tlie  soul,  and  our  having 
no  memory  of  it,  and  yet  there  are,  at  times,  some 
seeming  reminiscences,  fragmentary  and  inexplica- 
ble, inspiring  within  us  emotions  not  habitual,  as 
if  of  association  with  something  that  we  have  not 
seen  or  heard  in  this  life,  that  afford  some  presump- 
tion that  the  idea  of  an  existence  before  the  present 
life  may  turn  out  to  be  true. 

A  common  superstition  has  prevailed  in  all  ages, 
whereby  supernatural  beings  have  been  represented 
as  appearing  in  a  human  form,  yet  having  only  a 
shadowy  outline  without  substance.  Yet  have 
these  supposed  apparitions  been  always  the  occasion 
of  dread.  The  idea  of  being  brought  into  inter- 
course with  a  spirit  inspires  a  feeling  of  apprehen- 
sion totally  different  from  the  impression  produced 
by  the  presence  of  a  man,  however  great  may  be 
his  intellectual  capacity,  or  other  power,  or  what- 
ever may  be  his  moral  character.  Our  fellow  be- 
ings, even  the  worst  of  them,  have  still  something 
in  common  with  us,  which  preserves  a  certain 
degree  of  likeness  in  thought  and  feeling,  however 
much  they  may  be  perverted  ;  but  when  any  one 
has  believed  in  the  presence  of  a  being  not  human, 
there  has  been  an  indescribable  awe  —  a  thrill 
through  all  the  senses. 

In  the  disturbed  visions  of  those  persons  whose 
natural  reason  has  been  shaken  by  disorder  of  the 
nerves,  supernatural  appearances  are  easily  brought 
before  the  mind,  but  there  is  trembling  even  at  these 


274        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIE8. 

fictitious  creations  of  the  mind.  And  the  fear  con- 
sequent upon  such  imaginations  is  not  wholly  di- 
vested, if  the  sufferer  should  suspect,  or  even  believe, 
at  other  times,  that  they  were  mere  illusions. 

With  such  natural  revulsion  at  the  supernatural, 
it  may  be  difficult  to  explain  how  there  can  be  di- 
rect intercourse  with  God,  at  least  in  the  sense  com- 
monly understood,  without  a  sense  of  overwhelming 
awe.  And  this,  in  fact,  is  expressed  by  some  of  the 
greatest  of  the  prophets.**'  Yet,  however  it  may  be 
explained,  it  has  been,  in  fact,  illustrated  in  the  lives 
of  Christians  in  former  times,  and  we  may  form 
some  idea  of  it  from  the  profound  conviction  we 
often  see  developed  in  the  pious  of  our  own  age. 
This  may  enable  us  to  realize  what  was  the  inspira- 
tion imparted  to  prophets  and  apostles.  No  trans- 
formation of  character  by  the  mere  discipline  of  life, 
or  by  culture  of  the  mind,  or  by  change  of  position 
in  the  world,  can  be  compared  with  that  which  is 
produced  in  the  soul  by  what  is  termed  in  the  Scrip- 
tures the  new  birth,  or  if  explained  in  other  lan- 
guage, the  change  of  our  nature  by  the  mysterious 
power  which  works  in  us  when  we  are  brought  into 
communion  with  God.     The  life  of  a  man  in  whom 


•  Isaiali  vi.,  '"^ :  "  Then  said  I,  Woe  is  me  1  for  I  am  undone  ;  because  I  am  a  man 
of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midit  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips ;  for  mine 
eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

Jeremiah  iv.,  23-26 :  "  I  beheld  the  earth,  and  lo,  it  was  without  form  and  void  ; 
and  the  heavens,  and  they  had  no  light.  »  »  j  beheld  the  mountains, 
and  lo,  they  trembled,  and  all  the  hills  moved  lightly.  •  •  «  i  beheld, 
and  lo,  the  fruitful  place  was  a  wilderness,  and  all  the  cities  thei-eof  were  broken 
down  at  the  preeence  of  the  Lord." 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  275 

this  change  has  been  wrought,  is  not  free  from  the 
trials  to  which  others  are  subject,  but  by  all  such 
trials,  spiritual-mindedness  or  devotion  to  God  be- 
comes more  and  more  controlling. 

I  have  often  thought  of  the  self-sacrifice  of  devout 
Christians  as  something  like  the  call  to  the  pro- 
phetic office.  All  ordinary  human  motives  were  in 
the  latter  case  overthrown  by  a  resistless  power  that 
took  possession  of  the  soul,  and  thenceforth  control- 
led its  thoughts  and  purposes.  Even  the  timid  and 
reluctant  became,  under  this  power,  stern  exponents 
of  the  word  of  God  ;  bold  in  the  rebuke  of  wickedness 
in  high  places  ;  yet  withal  retaining  their  original 
simplicity  of  mind  and  unpretending  manner  of  life. 

To  the  deprecating  Jeremiah,  who  saw  in  himself 
no  qualification  for  this  great  office,  and  who,  in  his 
pathetic  language,  said,  ^^  Ah,  Lord  God,  behold  I 
cannot  speak,  for  I  am  a  child,"  the  answer  was, 
^^  Say  not  I  am  a  child,  for  thou  shalt  go  to  all  that 
I  shall  send  thee,  and  whatsoever  I  shall  command 
thee  thou  shalt  speak."'*'  Should  it  be  said  that 
this  was  but  a  communing  of  the  prophet  with  his 
own  mind,  it  needs  no  other  reply  than  that  such 
elevation  of  soul,  and  such  lofty  purposes,  so  nobly 
carried  out,  could  have  been  no  mere  natural  deter- 
mination. When,  afterwards,  by  his  unwavering 
declaration  of  what  he  deemed  himself  commissioned 
of  God  to  say,  he  had  alienated  his  brethren,  and 

•  Jar.  i.,  C-7. 
12* 


276  ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

called  down  the  wrath  of  the  rulers  and  great  men ; 
when  suffering  persecution  and  exposed  to  peril,  he 
still  proceeded  on  his  mission,  though  sinking  under 
the  pressure  of  the  burden  imposed  upon  him.*^ 

So  we  have  the  express  declaration  of  St.  Paul  that 
he  preached  not  by  his  own  will,  but  by  a  power 
which  he  could  not  resist — "  Necessity  is  laid  upon 
me ;  yea,  woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel."f 

And  whoever,  in  any  age,  have  been  called  to  be 
instrumental  of  great  good  to  others,  have  usually 
had  a  preparation  that  seemed  a  sacrifice  of  almost 
everything  that  the  heart  naturally  seeks,  and  the 
like  experience  is  still  exhibited  even  in  our  own 
comparatively  placid  phase  of  Christian  life.  They 
are  made  to  undergo  an  ordeal  as  by  fire,  whereby 
all  merely  human  hope  and  sympathy  are  blasted  ; 
and  at  first  the  soul  would  appear  to  be  left  bare 
and  desolate,  in  a  like  condition,  though  in  a 
worthier  sense,  with  those  who  were  ^^  amerced  of 
heaven,"  and  in  poetic  imagery  compared  to  the 
scathed  forest  oaks  or  mountain  pines — 

*'  With  singed  tops  their  stately  growth,  though  bare, 
Stands  on  the  blasted  heath." 

But  now  a  new  principle  of  life  succeeds  to  that 

•  I  know  of  nothing  more  touching  in  the  sacred  writings  than  the  prayer,  or, 
more  properly,  the  appeal  of  the  prophet :  "  O,  Lord,  thou  knowest — remember 
and  visit  me.  •  •  Know  that  for  thy  sake  I  have  suffered  rebuke.  Thy 
words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them,  and  thy  word  was  unto  me  the  joy  and  re- 
joicing of  my  heart.  *  •  I  sat  alone,  because  of  thy  hand,  for  thou  hast 
filled  me  with  indignation."— Jer.  xv.,  15-16. 

1 1  Cor.  9. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIKIES.         277 

which  has  been  extinguished.  Self-renunciation  is 
followed  by  an  all-controlling  consecration  to  the 
service  designated  by  the  divine  will.  From  such  a 
calling  the  natural  heart  would  shrink  back  with  a 
consciousness  of  inability — human  pride  is  smitten — 
the  vanity  of  all  merely  human  purposes  and  re- 
sources is  demonstrated.  But  now  is  realized  that 
"  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself  ;  that  it  is  not 
in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps."  ^^' 

In  this  self-sacrifice  and  stern  devotion  to  a  holy 
purpose,  there  is  a  divine  influence  imparting  tran- 
quility to  the  soul — a  serene  fortitude,  and  a  sense 
of  spiritual  things  not  known  in  the  ordinary  expe- 
rience of  life.  All  the  enjoyments  of  the  world,  all 
the  objects  of  worldly  ambition,  become  vapid  and 
unalluring,  and  in  their  place  is  the  more  satisfy- 
ing enjoyment  of  devout  meditation — of  a  clear 
perception  of  divine  truth,  and  a  consciousness  of 
power  to  accomplish  a  noble  work,  in  awakening 
the  consciences  of  other  men,  "  warning  the  unruly, 
comforting  the  feeble-minded,^'f  and  setting  forth, 
by  a  life  of  purity  and  self-negation,  an  example 
that  shall  enlighten  those  who  desire  to  become 
"  partakers  of  the  divine  nature,"  and  rebuke,  with 
silent  admonition,  the  low  propensities  of  the  worldly- 
minded.  Such  was  the  apostolic  office  ;  such  has 
been  the  preparation  of  many  who  have  been  called 
to  testify  for  the  truth  before  a  godless  world. 

•  Jer.  X,,  23.  t  Thefis.  iil.,  14. 


278         ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

If  it  should  be  asked,  then,  what  evidence  is  there 
that  this  transformation  is  by  a  divine  power,  and 
how  far  are  we  to  rely  upon  what  shall  be  commu- 
nicated by  one  who  has  thus  been  isolated,  as  it 
were,  from  his  kind  ?  I  answer,  that  "  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  what- 
soever things  are  of  good  report,"*  commend  them- 
selves to  the  consciences  of  all  men  as  being  divine  ; 
and  wherever  these  are  exhibited,  with  patient  per- 
sistency, in  the  midst  of  trial,  and  without  any  of 
the  ordinary  incentives  by  which  a  Pharasaic  preten- 
sion to  purity  of  life  might  be  prompted,  we  know 
that  something  more  than  mere  human  motive  is  in- 
volved. When  our  Saviour  proclaimed  to  the  world 
a  law  of  righteousness,  that  was  to  rule  the  heart  as 
well  as  the  outward  actions  of  men,  there  was,  and 
ever  since  has  been,  a  recognition  of  His  precepts,  as 
far  above  all  human  speculation.  Even  scoffers 
at  the  doctrinal  religion  of  the  Christian  Church 
have  admitted  it.  So,  whenever  the  principles  He 
taught  have  been  reproduced  in  the  lives  of  emi- 
nently pious  men,  the  world  is  impressed  by  the  ex- 
ample, and  looks  upon  it  with  secret  respect,  though 
the  evil  passions  of  men  may  be  roused  to  hostility 
by  the  rebuke  perpetually  administered  by  unselfish 
purity  of  life  and  devotion  to  God. 

•PhiL  iv.,  8. 


NEMESIS;    OE,    THE    RETEIBU- 
TIONS   OF    LIFE. 

ANCIENT  SPECULATIONS  UPON  NATURAL  EVIL — 
LATER  HYPOTHESES  BASED  UPON  THE  SUPPOSED 
SUFFICIENCY  OF  HUMAN  REASON,  WITHOUT  DI- 
VINE   REVELATION. 


It  is  a  trite  remark,  that  this  life  is  a  probation, 
by  which  is  meant,  that  the  events  of  life  are  de- 
signed as  a  discipline  for  the  restraint  of  evil  pro- 
pensities, and  the  nurture  of  whatever  of  good  there 
is  in  our  nature. 

That  there  are  checks  upon  the  natural  predis- 
positions to  evil,  in  every  form  of  society,  is,  doubt- 
less, true  ;  but  I  doubt  if  all  the  multiform  experi- 
ence of  individual  life  has,  in  itself,  a  renovating 
power.  Like  the  voice  of  the  inward  monitor  of  the 
soul,  it  seems  rather  to  be  a  guard  against  utter 
lawlessness,  than  the  vitalizing  agency  for  the  pro- 
gressive advancement  of  human  society.  It  would, 
indeed,  conflict  with  aU  past  history,  as  well  as  with 
religious  faith,  if  we  were  to  attribute  to  the  inte- 
rior working  of  any  merely  human  agency,  the  power 
of  elevating  and  perfecting  the  character  of  man. 


280        ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOaiOAL    INQITIRIES. 

The  civilization  of  tlie  Greeks  and  Eomans  had 
little  eiFect  on  the  moral  tone  of  character.  Vice 
was  not  restrained  by  virtuous  principle,  but  only 
by  conflicting  passions  and  interests,  which  mutually 
checked  each  other.  Power  was  the  great  object  of 
ambition.  Qualities  essential  to  the  attainment  of 
that  object — eloquence,  military  prowess,  political 
tact,  were  held  in  disproportionate  esteem.  To  com- 
mand armies,  or  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  civil  gov- 
ernment, was  not,  however,  the  only  form  of  power 
that  excited  cupidity.  Authority  over  the  minds  of 
men  was,  perhaps,  the  most  attractive  object  of 
ambition.  To  be  admired — to  be  pointed  out  in 
the  public  assembly — to  receive  public  testimonials 
of  honor — may  have  been  more  gratifying  to  human 
pride  than  to  have  control  over  men  by  an  armed 
force.  But  while  in  the  pursuit  of  power  or  fame, 
masculine  energies  of  body  and  mind  were  devel- 
oped, there  was  no  discipline  of  the  moral  affec- 
tions.* Some  philosophers  did,  indeed,  commend 
the  humbler  virtues,  but  the  motive   appealed   to 


•  Cicero,  the  most  humane  of  ancient  moralists,  could  find  no  better  motive  for 
the  highest  virtues,  than  an  intrinsic  dignity,  which  commanded  the  respect  of 
men. 

Thus,  to  exhibit  any  virtue  which  is  rare,  or  to  abstain  from  any  vice  which  it  ia 
difficult  to  resist,  was,  in  his  view,  the  object  of  special  admiration.  Pleasures  are 
powerful  with  most  men  to  turn  them  aside  from  virtue — he  who  can  despise  them 
exhibits  a  peculiar  splendor.  Life,  death,  riches,  poverty,  vehemently  move  the 
minds  of  men — which  things,  when  a  man  of  lofty  mind  looks  upon  unmoved, 
who  does  not  admire  the  dignity  and  beauty  of  virtue  thus  exhibited. — 0/".,  lib. 
2,  §  10. 

Such  ia  the  reasoning  of  Cicero.    By  the  same  rule  of  public  admiration,  he  held 


ETHICAL  AUTD  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  281 

was  still  to  gain  admiration.  It  was  merely  pre- 
senting, as  a  standard,  the  opinion  of  tlie  more 
cultivated  class,  instead  of  that  of  the  common 
people. 

There  certainly  was  an  intellectual  perception  of 
what  was  right  in  itself,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
writings  of  Plato  and  Cicero  —  but  there  was  an 
absence  of  any  sufficient  sanction  to  produce  con- 
formity therewith  in  the  life.  The  applause  of 
mankind,  or  a  particular  class  of  men,  was  the 
great  inducement  held  up  to  view  by  moralists. 
Virtues  relating  to  private  life  were  little  noticed  in 
philosophical  speculations,  and  not  at  all  practised, 
except  so  far  as  the  exigencies  of  society  demanded, 
that  is  to  say,  so  far  as  they  were  enforced,  by  the 
laws  of  the  State,  for  the  mutual  protection  of  the 
citizens.  The  existence  of  such  laws  might,  indeed, 
be  deemed  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  moral  sensi- 
bility of  the  people  ;  but  it  will  be  found  that  the 
laws  did  not  extend  beyond  what  was  necessary  to 
secure  the  right  of  individuals  to  enjoy  those  things 
that  they  were  impelled  to  seek  by  natural  in- 
stincts, so  far  as  such  pursuit  by  each  was  consis- 
tent with  that  of  others. 

The  laws  were  imperfect,  even  in  this  respect — 
but  they,  at  all  events,  did  not  extend  beyond  what 


that  is  was  necessary  for  Cato  to  kill  himself,  though  it  was  not  for  the  others  who 
surrendered  themselves  to  Ciesar,  for  the  reason  that  he  had  acquired  renown  for 
indomitable  greatness  of  mind,  wherefore  it  would  have  impaired  the  consistency 
rf  Mb  life  if  he  had  been  compelled  to  yield.— 0/.,  lib.  1,  §  31. 


282        ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQtriElES. 

was  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  society.  Per- 
haps their  office  may  be  fairly  considered  as  limited 
to  the  imposing  of  such  restraints,  as,  by  common 
consent,  are  admitted  in  lieu  of  the  self-protective 
right  which  each  individual  would  have  against  the 
aggression  of  another,  and  as  having  no  relation  to 
what  affected  the  individual  without  interfering 
with  the  rights  of  others.  The  disposition  of  the 
heart  cannot  be  reached  by  laws  ;  nor,  in  heathen 
civilization,  were  those  virtues  inculcated  at  all 
which  spring  from  social  affinity  and  sympathy. 
Kindness  to  neighbors,  charity  to  the  poor,  a  desire 
for  the  amelioration  of  the  hardships  of  life,  inci- 
dent to  ignorance  and  poverty,  had  no  place  in 
Greek  or  Koman  laws,  or  systems  of  philosophy.*^' 


•  The  distribution  of  bread  to  the  populace  of  Rome,  had  its  origin  in  mere 
jwlitical  motives.  Aspirants  for  public  favor  competed  with  each  other  in  procu- 
ring largess  to  the  common  people,  and  afterwards  it  became  necessary  to  continue 
it,  In  order  to  prevent  insubordination  of  an  idle  and  vicious  population. 

There  was  a  law  of  Thebes  requiring  poor  parents,  who  were  unable  to  support 
their  children,  to  surrender  them  to  the  State,  which  undertook  to  be  at  the  charge 
of  bringing  them  up.  The  object  of  the  law,  probably,  was  to  prevent  depopula- 
tion by  infanticide — which,  however,  it  did  not  accomplish. 

The  exposure  of  infants  was  a  general  practice  in  all  the  Greek  cities,  and  was 
not  repugnant  to  public  sentiment.  Even  Plutarch  could  excuse  it  upon  moral 
considerations  ("  Plutarch  en  the  Love  of  Progeny") ;  and  the  treatment  of  the 
children  committed  to  the  State,  in  the  city  of  Thebes,  proves  that  a  humane  inter- 
est in  their  welfare  had  but  little  to  do  with  the  law,  as  these  children  could  be 
Bold  as  slaves  for  payment  of  the  charges  incun-ed  in  supporting  them. 

At  Sparta,  weak  and  deformed  children  were,  by  law,  required  to  be  destroyed, 
which  was  done  by  casting  them  into  a  cavern  near  Mount  Taygetus.  So  general 
was  the  practice  in  Greece,  that  the  different  modes  of  exposurs  were  expressed  by 
discriminative  terms.  The  place  where  children  were  cast  was  called  AnoOtiai 
— whence  airoXidevai,  to  expose  with  a  design  to  destry ;  SKiidevai^to  expose  with- 
out a  destructive  intent ;  and  both  were  distinguished  from  violent  taking  of  life, 
aTtoxTsivai. 


ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.       283 

The  greatest  of  the  Eomans  (Julius  Caesar)  was 
the  most  profligate  man  of  his  time.  Cato  the 
Censor,  who  was  a  model  of  virtue,  according  to  the 
Koman  code,  was  in  the  habit  of  getting  rid  of  old 
and  infirm  slaves,  at  any  price,  instead  of  providing 
for  them  himself,  and  it  was  a  common  practice,  in 
what  was  called  the  virtuous  age  of  the  Koman  Ke- 
public,  to  expose  slaves,  who  were  worn  out  by  dis- 
ease or  the  infirmities  of  age,  on  an  island  in  the 
Tiber,  to  perish.* 

In  this  state  of  society,  what  was  really  the  effect 
of  the  course  of  life  upon  a  man's  character  ?  Did 
he  become  better,  in  a  moral  sense,  by  all  that  ex- 
perience which  we  term  discipline,  or  did  he,  on  the 
contrary,  become  harder  and  more  selfish  the  more 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuits  of  ambition  ? 

Another,  and  a  much  larger  class,  to  whom  the 
path  of  honor  offered  little  allurement,  either  for 
want  of  natural  ability,  or  of  other  advantages,  we 
should  presume  would  be  wholly  given  up  to  sensu- 
ality. The  intellectual  refinement  of  the  Athenian 
might  find  gratification  in  the  drama,  in  the  elo- 
quence of  popular  speakers,  and  even  in  the  discus- 
sions of  philosophers  —  the  Eoman  was  grossly 
licentious  in  his  pleasures. 

Look  at  another  phase  of  human  society,  when 
less  of  civilization  was  developed,  in   the   Asiatic 


•  Concubinage  was  entirely  unchecked — the  purity  of  domestic  life  was  shame- 
lessly violated  by  the  intercourse  of  masters  with  female  Blaves. 


284:         ETHICAL    AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES. 

nations  of  a  far  back  period.  I  refer  to  that  period 
because,  in  later  times,  they  have  felt  the  influence, 
if  not  of  the  Christian  religion  directly,  at  least  of 
intercourse  with  Christian  nations,  which  has  mate- 
rially modified  their  character.  It  would  seem  to 
have  been  an  impossibility,  that  without  religion, 
and  without  intellectual  cultivation,  society  could 
have  been  held  together  at  all.  There  must  have 
been  some  unseen  influence,  which  we  do  not  take 
into  account,  whereby  mankind,  in  the  lawlessness 
of  their  heathen  state,  were  withheld  from  utter 
and  irretrievable  degradation — unfit  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  any  purpose  for  which  life  may  be 
supposed  to  have  been  given  to  man.  What  was 
the  individual  life  .^  what  lesson  was  there  for  the 
advancement  of  any  good  principle  in  the  charac- 
ter ?  A  life  spent  in  vice  may  bring,  at  its  close, 
a  melancholy  retrospect  for  contemplation — ^but,  if 
moral  sense  was  not  wholly  extinct,  if  conscience 
had  still  some  power  to  disturb  the  soul,*  the  re- 
fuge was  in  an  abject  superstition — indeed,  at  all 
times,  in  the  midst  even  of  sensual  indulgence, 
there  was  a  fear  of  some  unseen  power — a  convic- 


•  Conscience  had,  undoubtedly,  some  power,  even  in  the  most  degraded  state  of 
human  society — to  what  extent  cannot  be  determined,  but  its  general  influence, 
antagonistic  to  vice,  is  certainly  to  be  taken  into  account. 

"Let it  be  imagined  how  many  men  have  wished  they  might  be  rid  of  it — let 
ft  be  imagined  with  how  many  men  it  has  interfered  to  disturb  and  oppose  them 
*  •  •  Perhaps  in  no  case  this  could  be  wholly  without  effect.  The  infl- 
nite  multitude  of  criminals  would  have  been  more  criminal  but  for  this." — 
Foster's  Lectures  at  Broadmead  Chapel. 


ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         285 

tion  that  there  were  beings,  hostile  to  men,  whom 
it  was  necessary  to  appease.  It  did  not,  however, 
occur  to  them,  that  this  was  to  be  done  by  self-re- 
straint and  effort  to  amend  their  lives.  They  were 
merely  persuaded,  by  the  pains  of  body  and  the  hard- 
ships and  disappointments  of  which  they  had  expe- 
rience, that  their  was  some  power  superior  to  man, 
and  unfriendly  to  him.  We  can  hardly  suppose  a 
man  living  always  in  the  indulgence  of  evil  passions, 
would  learn  anything  good — yet,  as  before  remarked, 
there  is  something  in  the  moral  agencies  by  which 
the  world  is  controlled,  that  interposes  checks 
against  vice.  Perhaps  the  domestic  relations  have 
most  influence.  A  parent,  however  sensual  he  may 
be  himself,  would  seek  to  restrain  his  children,  if 
for  no  other  reason  than  natural  affection — ^for  the 
evil  effect  of  vice  he  could  not  help  being  convinced 
of  by  his  own  experience. 

Plutarch*  says,  "  that  the  greatest  restraint  upon 
wicked  men  is  regard  for  their  posterity — it  being  a 
part  of  the  moral  government  of  the  world,  that  a 
man's  descendants  are  made  to  feel  the  effect  of  his 
conduct.  If  his  character  was  bad,  his  children 
suffer  ignominy,  unless  by  their  own  excellence  they 
shall  prove  it  to  be  unjust,  and  then  they  will  have 
additional  honor  for  having,  against  the  predisposi- 
tion to  evil,  supposed  to  be  inherited,  and  the  dis- 
advantage of  public   prejudice,   achieved   a   good 

•  Diaoourae  "  Concerning  those  whom  Grod  is  slow  to  punish." 


286        ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

name."  Sucb.  are  the  compensations  of  life.  The 
wickedness  of  the  parent  entails  dishonor  upon  the 
children — yet  a  motive  is  furnished  for  extraordi- 
nary effort  by  the  latter  to  overcome  the  bad  opin- 
ion of  the  world.  And  this  is  an  argument  of  great 
moment  for  solving  the  question,  which  has  per- 
plexed devout  men,  who  have  had  the  light  of  reve- 
lation. The  authors  of  the  books  of  Job  and  Ec- 
clesiastes  seem  to  have  had  some  idea  of  this  com- 
pensation in  God's  final  administration,  yet  did  not 
fully  set  forth  the  effect,  on  the  wicked,  of  their 
anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  their  children  and  friends. 

Plutarch,  in  this  respect,  had  a  larger  observa- 
tion, for  he  insists  that  retribution  does  take  place 
by  the  remorse  a  man  suffers  for  the  evil  that  he 
induces  upon  those  who  are  dependent  upon  him. 
Another  restraint  that  he  refers  to,  is  the  immediate 
effect  of  a  man's  example.  A  parent  is  impelled  to 
admonish  his  children  against  vice,  but  he  feels,  at 
the  same  time,  that  his  counsel  is  of  no  avail  while 
he  is  himself  indulging  in  the  very  thing  which  he 
exhorts  them  to  avoid,  and  hence,  is  led  to  check 
himself  in  his  vicious  course,  for  their  sake,  which 
he  would  not  be  by  any  consequences  which  might 
visit  him  alone,  and  not  affect  his  posterity. 

Yet,  with  all  these  restraints,  private  life  was 
licentious  among  the  Asiatics  and  Greeks,  to  a  de- 
gree that  seemed  to  threaten  the  extinction  of  so- 
ciety.   Upon  the  whole,  would  a  man,  living  in  that 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.  287 

condition  of  things,  be  in  any  sense  morally  im- 
proved by  his  experience  in  life  ?  Can  it  be  shown 
for  what  good  end  he  has  lived  at  all,  or,  in  other 
words,  what  advantage  it  has  been  to  himself  or 
others  that  he  has  been  sent  into  the  world  ? 

Plutarch  insists  much  upon  the  predominance  of 
evil  in  human  life,  as  a  counteraction  to  the  fear  of 
death,  and  he  quotes  the  opinion  of  Aristotle,  that 
it  was  best  not  to  be  born  at  all ;  and,  next  to  that, 
it  is  better  to  die  than  to  live.* 

Epicurus  and  his  disciples  were  led,  by  the  same 
view  of  the  preponderance  of  evil  over  good,  to 
make  it  an  important  part  of  a  man's  happiness  not 
to  fear  death,  regarding  it  as  the  end  of  pain,  that 
is  to  say,  annihilation.  The  effect  of  this  was  to 
constitute  it  a  part  of  their  philosophy  to  make  the 
most  of  sensual  pleasure,  and  to  overcome  pain  by 
energy  of  mind ;  and  it  ended  in  the  disb  elief  of 
Divine  Providence  altogether.f 

Other  philosphers  held,  it  is  true,  the  doctrine  of 
the  existence  of  the  soul  after  this  life,  but  it  was  a 


•  The  same  sentiment  is  expressed  in  Ecclesiastes :  • '  Wherefore  I  praised  the 
dead,  which  are  already  dead,  more  than  the  living,  which  are  yet  alive.  Yea, 
better  is  he  than  they  both  which  hath  not  been,  who  hath  not  seen  the  evil  work 
which  is  done  under  the  sun."— Elcc/.  iv.,  2-3. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  striking  similarity  in  the  views  of  human  life,  as  expressed 
in  this  book,  with  those  entertained  by  some  sects  of  the  Greek  philosophers,  par- 
ticularly the  Epicurean. 

t  According  to  the  most  learned  of  the  Romans,  the  elder  Pliny,  the  prevalent 
opinion  in  his  time  was,  that  the  affairs  of  this  world  were  directed  by  decrees, 


288  ETHICAL   AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL    IKQUIRIES. 

vague  conception,  and  had  but  little  relation  to  the 
conduct  of  a  man  here  ;  or,  in  other  words,  there 
was  not  a  distinct  idea  of  penalty  in  a  future  state 
for  misconduct  in  this.  The  tortures  which  were 
represented  as  inflicted  upon  certain  criminals,  were 
mere  poetical  fictions.  Obscurity  and  darkness  were 
the  worst  evils  which  the  philosophers  consigned 
them  to.^'^ 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  condition  of  those  who 
live  in  a  community  nominally  Christian.  The 
larger  number  now  in  such  a  community  are  unbe- 
lievers ;  that  is  to  say,  though  they  are  acquainted 
with  the  doctrines  and  ethical  principles  of  religion 
professed  by  Christians,  yet  have  no  experience  of  a 
spiritual  power  working  within  them,  and  exercising 
a  control  over  their  natural  inclinations.  They  are 
therefore  in  a  state  differing  from  that  of  the  hea- 
then only  so  far  as  modified  by  the  example  and  in- 
fluence of  professing  Christians.     And  this,  as  re- 


which,  having  been  primarily  established  by  God,  he  never  afterward  interfered 
with  the  actual  course  of  things. 

Pliny  also  denied  the  future  existence  of  the  soul.  Among  other  arguments,  he 
insisted  that  it  could  not  see,  or  hear,  or  feel,  without  the  organs  which  it  had 
been  accustomed  to  use  in  the  present  life. 

•  The  theory  of  Plutarch  is  somewhat  vaguely  expressed.  The  present  life  la 
Bimply  a  visible  state — death  is  a  return  to  a  latent  condition.  No  discrimination 
would,  in  this  view,  exist  between  the  good  and  the  depraved. 

"  The  birth  or  generation  of  individuals  gives  not  any  being  to  them  which  they 
had  not  before,  but  brought  the  individual  into  view ;  as  also  the  corruption  or 
death  of  any  creature  is  not  the  annihilation  or  reduction  into  mere  nothing,  but 
merely  the  sending  the  dissolved  being  into  an  invisible  gtate."— Plutarch,  on  Liv- 
ing Concealed. 


ETHICAL  AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIKIES.  289 

spects  the  exterior  of  life,  is  considerable.  It  gene- 
rates, at  least,  a  formality  of  decorum — an  acquies- 
cence in  certain  observances  prescribed  by  the  church, 
and  a  decent  conformity  to  the  moral  tone  of  society, 
kept  up  by  the  Christian  part  of  the  community. 
Bat  if  we  sift  the  inner  motives  of  their  actions,  and 
weigh  the  influences  which  affect  their  desires  and 
secret  course  of  life,  it  will  be  found  that  this  exter- 
nal power  operates  only  to  check  the  excess  of  selfish 
passion,  or  rather  to  restrain  the  open  display  of 
unhallowed  thoughts  and  desires,  by  which  they  are 
in  fact  secretly  actuated,  and  so  far  exercising  some 
force  antagonistic  to  evil  propensities,  yet  still 
without  inspiring  better  motives,  or  awakening  a 
holier  principle  of  life.  This  is  a  fair  view  of  the 
actual  condition  of  such  men,  and  our  question  is, 
how  are  they  operated  upon  by  the  various  trials  of 
life,  considered  as  probative  ? 

I  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  one  efifect,  and 
immeasurably  of  greatest  consequence  is,  that  these 
trials  are  often  the  means  of  awakening  the  con- 
science, and  producing  conviction  of  sin,  which  is 
the  first  step  in  the  work  of  regeneration.  The  ten- 
dency to  this  result  is  indeed  the  distinctive  charac- 
ter of  the  Christian  dispensation. 

But,  second,  when  such  an  efiect  is  not  produced, 
the  discipline  is  substantially  the  same  as  was  felt 
by  the  heathen  mind.  The  same  arguments  that 
were  canvassed  by  the  old  philosophers,  rise  spon- 


290         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

taneously  to  the  irreligious  of  our  own  times. 
Worldly-minded  men,  unimpressed  by  evangelical 
truth,  have  invariably  a  melancholy  view  of  human 
life.  It  may  seem  otherwise,  if  we  judge  of  them 
only  by  what  they  appear  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
health  and  capacity  for  sensual  enjoyment.  Then 
they  may  be  hilarious,  defiant,  profane,  without 
fear  (at  least  so  far  as  we  can  judge)  of  the  future. 
The  world  is,  in  their  estimation,  a  good  world 
enough,  and  abounding  in  pleasures  suited  to  their 
taste.  Such,  I  say,  may  be  their  case  during  the 
brief  efflorescence  of  animal  life  ;  yet  brief  it  neces- 
sarily is,  nor  is  it  allotted  to  all.  Pain  of  body, 
disappointment  of  hope,  some  reverse  in  life,  or  fail- 
ure to  attain  what  has  been  sought,  soon  come  to 
darken  the  mind,  and  though  a  dauntless  face  may 
be  presented  to  the  world,  the  solitary  thoughts  of 
one  who  has  had  such  experience,  if  disclosed  to  us, 
would  probably  declare  a  spirit  resentful  of  the  hard 
conditions  of  life.  An  exaggerated  estimate  of  the 
evil  to  which  life  is  subject,  becomes  inevitably  his 
practical  theory ;  in  time  it  will  be  the  burden  of 
his  conversation,  or  if  he  have  ambition  as  an  author, 
it  will  appear  in  his  writings.  A  man  of  profligate 
life  will  be  found  to  belong  to  the  same  stye  with 
the  Epicureans  of  old,  discontented,  disgusted  per- 
haps, but  seeking  to  banish  all  thought  of  the  future, 
or  of  Divine  Providence,  finding  solace  chiefly  in  the 
belief  that  human  life  is  left  to  itself,  and  at  any 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.  291 

rate,  that  when  it  ends  there  will  be  an  end  of  pain. 
And  so,  in  his  attempt  to  enlighten  the  world  by  his 
writings,  he  will  insist  upon  human  suffering  as  an 
overwhelming  answer  to  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
the  goodness  of  God.  Hume's  Dialogue  on  Natural 
Religion  presents  substantially  the  same  view  of  life 
that  was  so  much  insisted  on  by  the  Greek  philo- 
sophy.* 

The  confession  of  Chesterfield,  one  of  the  most 
fortunate  of  men,  as  the  world  estimates  good  for- 
tune, is  a  memorable  testimony  to  the  hollowness  of 
mere  human  philosophy.f  A  more  pathetic  view  of 
human  life  can  scarcely  be  conceived  than  is  exhib- 


•  "  The  first  entrance  into  life  gives  anguisii  to  the  new-bom  infant,  and  to  its 
TvTctched  parent.  Weakness,  impotence,  distress,  attend  each  stage  of  that  life, 
and  it  is  at  last  finished  in  agony  and  horror," — Hume's  Dia.  on  Nat.  Religion, 
pari  10, 

One  rather  novel  objection  to  the  constitution  of  animal  life  is  mentioned  by 
Hume,  viz, :  the  meagre  provision  made  beyond  what  was  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  race,  there  being,  according  to  his  hypothesis,  no  appa- 
rent care  or  concern  for  the  happiness  of  the  creatures  composing  it,  so  that  they 
were  sufiSciently  provided  for  propagation. 

t  "  I  have  run  the  silly  round  of  business  and  of  pleasure,  and  have  done  with 
them  all.  I  have  enjoyed  all  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  and  know  their  futility, 
and  do  not  regret  their  loss.  I  appraise  them  at  their  real  value,  which  is  in  truth 
very  low,  whereas  those  who  have  not  experienced  them  always  overrate  them,  *  * 
I  look  back  on  all  that  has  passed  as  one  of  those  romantic  dreams  which  opium 
commonly  produces,  and  I  have  no  wish  to  repeat  the  nauseous  dose,  I  have  been 
R3  wicked  and  vain  as  Solomon,  but  am  now  at  last  able  to  attest  the  truth  of  his 
reflection,  that  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  Shall  I  tell  you  that  I  bear 
this  situation  with  resignation  ?  No,  I  bear  it  because  I  must,  whether  I  will  or  no. 
I  think  of  nothing  but  killing  time,  now  that  it  has  become  my  enemy.  It  is  my 
resolution  to  sleep  in  the  carriage  during  the  rest  of  life's  journey,"        •        «      • 

So  wrote  Chesterfield  when  he  had  been  overtaken  by  infirmity,  and  had  the 
near  prospect  of  the  approaching  end  of  life , 

13 


292         ETHICAL   A2n)  PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQtriBlES. 

ited  in  the  history  of  a  man  amved  at  old  age  with- 
out having  found  a  single  object  for  which  life  itself 
was  of  any  worth,  and  after  all  this  experience  of 
folly,  looking  to  nothing  in  the  future  of  any  better 
promise. 


NEMESIS;    OR,    RETRIBUTIONS 
OF    LIFE. 


[continued  ] 
SCRIPTURAL    VIEW. 


Looking  at  human  life,  as  it  appears  in  the  light 
of  Christian  experience,  I  remark,  in  the  first  place, 
that  a  large  number  even  of  nominal  Christians, 
perhaps  including  some  who  have  been  brought 
under  the  mysterious  power  of  divine  grace,  yet,  when 
faith  is  weak,  are  practically  much,  the  same  as  the 
merely  worldly  and  unbelieving.  They  are  actuated 
by  the  same  motives  in  their  daily  conduct,  and,  un- 
til by  some  severe  dispensation  of  Providence,  quick- 
ened into  a  greater  sense  of  divine  truth,  in  fact  live 
as  do  men  of  the  world,  and  to  them  human  life  must 
appear  just  as  inexplicable  as  it  does  to  the  heathen 
mind. 

If  we  proceed  still  further,  and  assume  all  the 
knowledge  which  is  derived  from  the  Scriptures  and 
genuine  change  of  heart,  let  us  consider  whether, 
with  the  aid  thus  derived,  all  the  difficulty  is  over- 
come.    The  scriptural  view  appears  to  be  that  suf- 


294         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

fering  is  a  chastisement  for  sins,  not  vindictive,  but 
for  our  correction,  in  which,  view  human  life  is  pro- 
bative, or  disciplinary.  A  question  still  remains, 
whether,  with  our  imperfect  knowledge,  we  can  dis- 
cern a  correspondence  in  the  good  accomplished  with 
the  suffering  by  which  it  is  wrought,  or  in  other 
words,  in  exact  proportion  between  the  trial  and  the 
benefit. 

The  following  observations  naturally  occur  in  at- 
tempting a  solution  of  the  question  :  1.  The  evils 
of  human  life  exist  in  greatest  degree  among  those 
who  are  least  competent  to  feel  any  moral  influence 
therefrom.  This,  at  least,  so  appears  with  respect 
to  physical  sufferings,  and  the  want  of  the  ordi- 
nary comforts  of  life,  whether  these  relate  to  the  body 
or  the  mind.  The  slave  is  too  much  degraded  to 
feel  any  moral  effect  from  chastisement.  The  down- 
trodden people,  in  countries  where  there  is  a  des- 
potic government,  are  reduced  to  a  mere  animal 
state  of  existence.  Oppression  extinguishes  the 
spiritual  nature.  A  man  who  has  nothing  that  he 
can  call  his  own,  and  who  can  look  forward  to  no 
improvement  of  his  state,  upon  whom  no  genial  in- 
fluences are  shed  by  the  kindness  of  his  superiors 
in  rank,  but  only  a  blight  and  a  curse  from  the  self- 
ish passions  of  men  to  whom  he  is  subject,  will  sink 
into  a  brutish  sensuality,  or  cherish  in  his  heart  a 
feeling  that  he  has  been  unjustly  dealt  with,  and  a 
secret  longing  for  revenge. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    IKQU1KIE8.        295 

The  voice  of  Christian  piety  may,  indeed,  reach 
such  a  heart.  It  was  among  the  degraded  and  out- 
cast that  our  Saviour  was  most  listened  to.  "  Verily 
I  say  unto  you  that  the  publicans  and  harlots 
go  into  the  kingdom  before  you,"  was  his  stern  re- 
buke to  the  priests  and  elders.  But  how  large  a 
part  of  the  human  race  are  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
consolations  administered  by  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  Even  in  those  more  favored  countries 
where  the  religion  of  Christ  is  professed,  and  where 
the  government  is  comparatively  mild,  what  multi- 
tudes are  living  in  a  benighted  state,  unvisited  by 
the  messages  of  truth,  without  Christian  association 
or  public  worship,  or  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures. 
To  all  who  are  thus  involved  in  heathenish  darkness 
or  in  worse  than  heathenish  neglect,  in  Christian 
lands,  what  is  there  in  suffering,  unministered  to 
and  unalleviated  by  human  charity  or  divine  solace, 
that  is  calculated  to  elevate  the  thought  of  the  op- 
pressed spirit  to  God  as  a  merciful  being  ?  What 
self-amelioration  is  there  in  their  condition  ?  what 
tendency  to  purge  the  soul  of  brutish  passion,  and 
in  its  stead  to  foster  submission  to  a  divine  will  ? 
what  sense  of  the  goodness  of  God  may  we  suppose 
to  be  generated  in  the  midst  of  the  evils  by  which 
their  unhappy  lot  in  life  is  surrounded  ?  These 
are  questions  which  press  painfully  upon  the 
thoughtful  mind,  a  satisfactory  answer  to  which  is 
not  easily  found. 


296         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   mQUIEIES. 

2.  Extending  our  inquiry  to  the  condition  of  those 
who  are  more  happily  placed  in  life — who  have 
religious  instruction  and  Christian  association — we 
can  see  the  development  of  a  plan  which,  under 
certain  circumstances,  is  potent  in  its  influence  upon 
human  character.  In  the  life  of  a  Christian  who 
has  lived  to  full  age,  all  the  events  of  its  entire 
course  seem  to  be  so  ordered  as  to  bring  into  action 
holy  principles  which  are  latent  in  the  natural  heart, 
but  by  divine  grace  are  nurtured  into  vitality.  To 
such  a  man  the  whole  of  life  is  progressive  ;  all  his 
experience  has  wrought  addition  to  his  faith  and 
purity  of  character.  But  when  we  reflect  how  few 
are  permitted  to  enjoy  this  complete  accomplish- 
ment of  a  consecutive  discipline,  the  large  propor- 
tion of  those  who  are  but  just  entering  life  when 
they  are  called  from  it,  a  distressing  doubt  arises,  as 
to  the  far  greater  proportion  of  a  Christian  commu- 
nity, what  to  them  is  the  purpose  of  life  ?  If  for 
probation,  that^  so  far  as  we  can  see,  is  incom- 
plete— or  may  it  be  supposed  that  in  another  state 
of  existence  probation  may  be  continued  to  such  as 
have  been  curtailed  of  it  here  ?  This  seems  not  to 
be  the  scriptural  doctrine  ;  yet  we  are  prone  to 
seek  some  general  law  to  which  all  men  are  subject. 
Perhaps  we  should  look  on  this  as  one  of  those 
speculative  questions  which  we  cannot  comprehend 
without  a  knowledge  of  other  things  which  have  not 
been  revealed,  and,  therefore,  should  not  allow  it 


ETHICAL    JlND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES.         297 

to  disturb  our  faitli  or  impair  our  confidence  in  the 
goodness  or  wisdom  of  God  in  his  arrangement  of 
human  affairs. 

If  mere  hypothesis  might  be  allowed,  we  might 
almost  yield  to  the  suggestion  that  there  is  some 
relation  between  this  earth  and  other  worlds  which 
is  now  involved  in  mystery,  and  that  among  other 
things  it  may  be  supposed  that  this  is  the  nursery 
of  the  spiritual  principle,  which  is  to  be  more  fully 
developed  elsewhere.'-'  This  hypothesis  would 
apply  to  the  brute  creation  also,  but  that  would 
perhaps  form  no  objection,  for  I  know  no  positive 
proof  that  the  animal  soul  will  not  survive  this  life. 

3.  Looking  at  the  Christian  life,  and  considering 
the  adaptations  of  all  the  arrangements  of  the 
course  of  events  in  the  world,  with  reference  to 
their  effect  on  such  a  life,  and  leaving  out  of 
view  all  speculative  questions  such  as  those  before 
suggested,  there  are  two  views  which  differ  some- 
what in  their  aspect.  One  is  that  the  life  of  a 
Christian  is  subject  to  just  so  much  of  trial  as  is 
necessary  to  maintain  a  tender  conscience,  and  a 
quickened  sense  of  the  need  of  divine  grace  to  resist 
temptations,  and  thus  to  make  his  life  progressive. 
In  this  view  the  ills  that  we  are  subject  to  are  like 
the  restraints  or  the  penalties  imposed  upon  chil- 

•  "  It  is  here  brought  into  its  first  state  of  being,  in  animal  forms,  with  a  profusion 
that  Beems  to  ua  unexplainably  lavish,  unless  in  order  to  be  used  elsewhere  in  some 

advanced  or  ulterior  condition,  and  in  other  modes  of  material  existence." Sharon 

Turner,  Sac.  His.,  v.  i,  389. 


298         ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

dren  by  parents  and  instructors — and  human  ills 
might  be  considered  as  a  process  of  education.  This 
hypothesis  assumes  that  the  tendencies  of  the  soul 
are  not  so  strongly  evil  but  that  they  may  be  kept 
from  perversion  by  educational  discipline.  The 
other  view  is,  that  the  inclinations  of  the  heart  are 
wholly  evil  and  opposed  to  the  law  of  Grod,  and  that 
they  are  brought  into  conformity  with  that  law 
only  by  an  entire  renewal  of  our  nature,  which  our 
Saviour  compared  to  a  new  birth.  The  latter  is  un- 
doubtedly the  more  scriptural  view. 

Of  the  origin  of  this  state  we  know  nothing.  It 
may  be,  as  Bishop  Butler  suggested,  connected  with 
something  in  the  past  of  which  we  have  not  the 
history.  The  bolder  hypothesis  of  others  is  not  un- 
natural, though  unsustained  by  proof,  that  when 
we  enter  the  spiritual  world  it  may  be  found  that 
we  have  a  past  history  preceding  the  present  life.* 


•  Pre-existence  was  a  favorite  theory  with  some  of  the  Greek  philosopher.  Plu- 
tarch refers  to  it,  not  as  a  mere  hypothesis,  but  affirms  it  as  if  it  were  positively 
proven.  Life,  in  his  view,  was  merely  becoming  visible,  and  death  was  returning 
to  a  latent  state. 

So  he  says  "Apollo  (the  sun)  is  called  Delius  and  Pythius,  that  is  conspicuous 
and  known ;  but  the  ruler  of  the  infernal  regions  is  called  Hades,  that  is  invisible, 
and  man  himself  was  at  first  called  PJios  (light.)  There  being  an  affinity  or  per- 
petual desii'e  in  mankind  of  seeing  and  being  seen  by  each  other." — Plutarch,  on 
Living  Concealed. 

The  same  idea  seems  to  take  hold  of  the  irreligious  .speculative  mind,  as  expressed 
by  a  poet  of  our  own  times : 

"  I  look  upon  the  peopled  desert  past 
As  on  a  place  of  agony  and  strife  ; 
Where,  for  some  sin  to  sorrow  I  was  cast, 
To  act  and  suffer — but  remount  at  last." 

Pre-existence  cannot  be  proved,  neither  can  it  be  disproved,  except  by  the  ab- 


ETHICAL   AND    PHYSIOLOGICAL  INQtTIRIES.        299 

There  is  a  congruity  in  human  experience  with  a 
great  and  beneficent  design^  if  we  assume  the  fallen 
nature  of  man,  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause. 
We  see,  then,  the  necessity  of  the  many  and  diverse 
forms  of  suffering  ;  pain  of  body,  distress  of  mind, 
disappointment  of  hope,  and  all  the  sorrows  of 
which  every  human  being  has  his  share,  though  in 
no  fixed  proportion,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  deter- 
mine. For  this  diversity  we  may  suppose  a  proba- 
ble cause,  that,  although  all  have  sinned,  yet  is  there 
still  an  inconceivable  variety  of  character,  and  a 
corresponding  susceptibility  to  the  influence  of  the 
circumstances  affecting  human  life.  This,  indeed,  is 
the  necessary  result  of  the  free  action  of  man's 
will — the  various  degrees  of  capacity  allotted  to  the 
myriad  beings  of  the  human  race,  and  the  infinite 
variety  of  conditions  in  which  they  are  placed. 


Bence  of  proof  in  its  favor.  Consciousness  or  recollection  is  the  ground  of  belief  as  to 
the  present  life,  yet  the  loss  of  it,  as  to  any  former  period  of  this  life,  dees  not 
prove  that  we  did  not  then  live.  There  is  other  evidence — the  recollection  by 
others — which  we  cannot  have  as  to  a  previous  existence.  The  most  renowned  of 
the  Christian  Fathers  (Origen)  believed  that  human  souls  have  existed  in  an  ethe- 
rial  state,  with  the  power  of  choosing  good  or  evil ;  that  for  the  voluntary  choice  of 
evil  they  have  been  inclosed  in  material  bodies.  Some  inhabit  the  stars  ;  others, 
whose  sin  had  been  more  heinous,  have  become  the  successive  generations  of  man- 
kind ;  and  our  health  and  richness,  beauty  and  deformity,  prosperity  and  adversity, 
are  in  proportion  to  our  deserts  in  a  former  Etate.  All  suffering  he  considered  to  be 
designed  for  our  renovation,  and  when  we  shall  have  been  purged  of  our  sins  we 
shall  be  restored  to  our  first  condition.  Origen  probably  derived  this  opinion  from 
oriental  philosophy,  but  Christian  sympathy  was  largely  intermingled  ;  he  believed 
in  the  final  restoration  of  all  sinful  beings,  even  Satan  himself. — See  articU  on 
Origen^  Brit.  Quar.  Rev.  (Eclectic,  Jan.,  184(5.) 

13* 


300         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIEIES. 

The  same  stupendous  wisdom  wMcli  is  exhibited 
in  the  very  constitution  of  the  race,  by  which,  in 
the  countless  multitudes  that  have  lived,  individu- 
ality has  been  maintained,  while  there  has  been  a 
nature  common  to  all,  we  may  take  for  granted  is 
also  competent  to  administer  with  discriminating- 
precision  the  affairs  of  human  life,  so  as  to  apportion 
to  each  individual  the  peculiar  experience  which  is 
best  adapted  to  him. 

This  does  not  necessarily  induce  the  presumption 
that  those  whose  trials  are  apparently  greatest  are 
therefore  more  reprobate  in  mind  than  those  who 
seem  to  have  a  milder  dispensation.  Overt  suffer- 
ing is  no  test  what  may  actually  be  the  trial  of  the 
soul.  ^'  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness" 
(Prov.  xiv.,  10),  and  there  are  vast  numbers  of  men 
who  are  seemingly  exempt  from  the  grosser  and 
more  obvious  pains  of  life,  who  are  in  the  enjoyment 
of  what  the  heart  naturally  craves  as  the  best  con- 
dition of  life — affluence  and  high  position — who  yet 
would  gladly  exchange  all  their  fancied  happiness 
for  the  ^^  weariest  and  most  loathed  worldly  life" 
ever  imposed  on  man  by  penury  and  bodily  pain. 

It  is  enough,  perhaps,  for  us  to  know  that  trial  of 
some  sort  is  the  lot  of  every  human  being,  and  that  it 
is  the  only  method  which,  in  the  moral  administration 
of  the  world,  has  been  found  effectual  to  restrain  the 
proclivity  of  man  to  lawless  wickedness,  and  to  re- 
claim him  from  the  slavery  of  sin.      It  will,   of 


ETHICAL    AITD  PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIRIES.         301 

course,  not   be  supposed  that  I  am  presenting  a 
view  of  human  life  as  if  it  consisted  merely  of  pen- 
alties, which  being  suffered,  the  soul  is  thereby  re- 
stored from  the  consequences  of  transgression.     On 
the  contrary,  I  assume  that  the  human  soul,  in  its 
natural  state,  before  the  work  of  divine  grace  has 
been  -wrought  therein,  is   without  hope,  and  that, 
without  a  revelation  from  God  himself,  no  voice  of 
comfort  could  ever  have  reached  our  ears,  nor  peace 
have  revisited  the  sin-stricken  conscience  ;  but  even 
with  all  the  divine  aid  accorded  to  frail  humanity, 
it  seems  to  have  been  found  necessary  for  the  reno- 
vation of  the  soul,  that  there  should  be  personal  ex- 
perience of  some  of  the  results  of,  or  penalties  due 
to,   an  unhallowed  life.     We  are  all,  while  unreno- 
vated,  in  the  condition  of  the  prodigal  son,  and  not 
all  the  yearnings  of  a  father's  heart  towards  us,  nor 
all  the  assurance  that  he  is  ready  to  forgive  our 
past  transgressions  and  receive  us  again  to  the  pater- 
nal home,  whenever  we  are  willing  to  renounce  our 
life  of  sin  and  return  to  filial  obedience,  would  ever 
induce  us  to  take  that  step,  if  we  were  not  first  re- 
duced to  feed  on  husks  allotted  to  swine,  and  feel 
the  bitterness  of  degradation  and  despair. 

Again  would  I  guard  against  any  possible  mis- 
construction. The  ills  of  life,  as  the  worldly  mind 
estimates  them,  constitute  but  a  part  of  the  trials 
which  make  up  the  discipline  of  the  soul.  Pain  of 
body,  the  loss  of  property  or  friends,  and  other  mis- 


302         ETHICAL    AND    PlIYSTOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES, 

fortunes,  are  calculated  to  awaken  a  sense  of  our 
condition  of  dependence  upon  God,  and  utter  penury 
of  all  that  the  immortal  soul  should  seek.  But 
other  causes  may  arouse  the  same  reflections.  What- 
ever providential  dealings  may  bring  about  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  and  a  feeling  of  penitence  under 
that  conviction,  may  be  deemed  a  part  of  the  dis- 
cipline by  which,  with  no  more  than  necessary  se- 
verity, we  are  chastened  for  our  good. 

But  there  may  be  secret  wounds  of  conscience 
where  there  is  no  visible  dealing  of  Providence  with 
us.  ^^As  Thy  favors  have  increased  upon  me,  so 
have  Thy  corrections.  *  *  Ever  as  my  worldly 
blessings  have  been  exalted,  so  secret  darts  from  Thee 
have  pierced  me,"  was  the  devout  confession  of 
Bacon.  The  outward  and  physical  calamities  of 
life  are  neither  discriminative  judgments  for  sin,  nor 
do  they  constitute  the  only  means  of  awakening  the 
conscience.  "  Those  eighteen  upon  whom  the  tower 
of  Siloam  fell  and  slew  them,  think  ye  that  they 
were  sinners  above  all  that  dwelt  in  Jerusalem  ? 
I  tell  you  nay,  but  except  ye  repent  ye  shall  all 
likewise  perish.''  These  Avere  the  words  of  our  Sa- 
viour, and  we  are  taught  thereby  that  we  all  have 
need  of  the  same  salvation,  and  that  none  are  pun- 
ished vindictively  in  this  life. 

Another  hypothesis  has  been  insisted  upon,  which 
has  probably  grown  out  of  the  observation  of  the 
eminently  useful  qualities  of  many  men  who  have 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    iKQt^RlES.  o03 

had  severe  trials,  viz.,  that  all  trials  are  designed  as 
a  preparation  for  the  accomplishment  of  good  to 
those  who  suffer,  and  through  their  instrumentality 
to  others.  According  to  this  theory,  great  afflic- 
tions should  he  deemed  evidence  of  a  special  desig- 
nation of  the  person  so  tried  for  a  ministry  of  more 
than  ordinary  import.  As  it  was  declared  in  a 
vision  to  Ananias  that  Paul  was  ^'a  chosen  vessel,'' 
and  it  was  added,  ^^I  will  show  him  how  great 
things  he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake,"  so  every 
one  chosen  for  a  work  of  difficulty  may  he  supposed 
to  have  a  previous  discipline  hy  actual  endurance, 
and  a  revelation  of  greater  trials  to  he  undergone. 
There  is  undouhtedly  good  reason  for  believing  that 
this  is  often  the  mode  in  which  the  most  eminent 
Christian  efficiency  is  wrought  out.  Self-sacrifice 
precedes  those  grand  developments  of  power  hy 
which  the  human  mind  is  moved  in  great  emergen- 
cies. This  power  comes  from  the  renewal  of  the  in- 
terior life,  the  renunciation  of  what  the  unregene- 
rate  heart  desires,  and  the  awakening  of  noble  pur- 
poses, which  may  be  thought  of  with  satisfaction  in 
{-olifcary  meditation — which  can  be  prayed  for,  and 
the  very  contemplation  of,  and  prayer  for  which, 
elevate  the  soul  to  a  clearer  view  of  divine  truth, 
and  greater  conformity  to  that  truth  in  thought  and 
action.  This  constitutes  fellowship  with  Christ,  so 
much  insisted  upon  by  the  Apostles  :  '^  We  glory 
in  you  (said  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians),  for  your 


304        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQFIRIES. 

patience  and  faith  in  all  your  persecutions  and  tri- 
bulations which  ye  endure  ;  which  is  a  manifest 
token  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  that  ye 
should  be  counted  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
for  which  also  ye  suffer." 

So  to  the  Philippians,  "  that  I  may  know  the  fel- 
lowship of  his  sufferings,  and  be  made  conformable 
unto  his  death  ;"  and  to  Timothy,  "  if  we  suffer  we 
shall  also  reign  with  him."  So  also  St.  Peter, 
"  that  the  trial  of  your  faith  **-'  *  *  might  be 
found  unto  praise,  and  honor,  and  glory,  at  the  ap- 
pearing of  Jesus  Christ." 

It  is,  however,  carrying  this  doctrine  to  an  ex- 
treme degree,  to  suppose  that  the  ordinary  proceed- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  renewing  the  soul,  is  by 
the  disappointment  of  all  the  natural  hopes  and  de- 
sires of  the  human  heart — though  it  may  be  true 
in  respect  to  individuals  who  are  called  to  some 
great  undertaking,  yet  not  of  all  Christians,  nor 
even  the  larger  number.*^ 

In  the  review  of  this  subject,  there  may,  perhaps, 
be  left  an  impression  that  the  result  arrived  at  is 
indefinite — somethino;  akin  to  the  doubtful  deduc- 


•  The  following  extract  expresses  the  ultra  views  to  which  I  have  referred : 
"  The  word  of  Providence  and  the  Spirit  is  applied  successively  to  every  tie  that 
binds  them  to  the  world.  Their  property,  their  health,  their  friends,  fall  before  it. 
The  inward  fabric  of  hopes  and  joys,  where  self-love  waa  nourished,  and  pride  had 
its  nest,  is  leveled  to  the  dust.  They  are  smitten  within  and  without — burned  with 
fire — overwhelmed  with  the  waters — peeled,  scathed,  and  blasted  to  the  very  e». 
tremity  of  endurance — till  they  learn,  in  this  dreadful  baptism,  the  inconsibtency 
of  the  attempted  worship  of  God  and  mammon  at  the  same  time."— Upham's  In- 
terior Li/e. 


ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL   INQUIKIES.       305 

tions  of  heathen  philosophy — there  may  be,  even  in 
the  minds  of  some  who  are  unaccustomed  to  pursue 
fearlessly  the  investigation  of  truth,  a  vague  appre- 
hension of  departure  from  scriptural  doctrine.  To 
such  persons  the  following  considerations  may  be 
properly  addressed  : 

I.  It  is  apparent  that  the  entire  scheme  of  human 
life,  and  all  its  relations  to  the  past,  the  future,  and 
the  spiritual,  have  not  been  fully  revealed  in  the 
word  of  God,  perhaps  could  not  have  been  compre- 
hended by  our  imperfect  faculties  if  the  revelation 
had  been  made. 

II.  It  seems  not  to  have  been  intended  that  all 
speculative  questioning  should  have  a  solution, 
nor  is  it  known  to  us  why  the  measure  of  our  knowl- 
edge is  thus  limited.  It  is,  as  before  suggested,  a 
probable  hypothesis,  yet  still  only  conjectural,  that 
the  very  difficulty  of  arriving  at  absolute  certainty 
as  to  many  things  which  we  deem  essential  to  our 
future  welfare,  may  be  for  the  exercise  of  our  faith. 
The  importance,  as  it  may  appear  to  us,  of  having 
clear,  reliable  knowledge  upon  certain  subjects,  is, 
by  no  means,  a  conclusive  argument  that  it  is  so  re- 
garded by  divine  wisdom  ;  nor,  indeed,  is  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  analogy  of  God's  dealing  with  us,  in 
many  things  relating  to  this  world,  in  which  we  sup- 
pose our  happiness  to  be  deeply  involved."*^ 


•  »*  Would  it  not  have  been  thought  highly  improbable  that  man  ehould  have 
been  so  much  more  capable  of  discovering,  even  to  a  certainty,  the  general  lawi  of 


306        ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIRIES. 

III.  We  have,  in  the  experience  of  life,  as  well  as 
in  scriptural  precept,  a  demonstration  that  we  have 
to  do  with  practical  duties,  and  that  the  culture  of 
true  Christian  virtues  depends,  not  upon  profound 
knowledge,  but  upon  conformity  to  the  example  of 
our  Lord — upon  a  ready  obedience  to  all  that  is 
enjoined  by  divine  truth,  and  the  inward  promptings 
of  our  own  consciences,  enlightened  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who,  we  cannot  doubt,  does  abide  with  every 
penitent  and  believing  soul.  The  lost  angels  are 
well  represented  as  discussing  abstract  doctrines  and 
still  seeking  to  explore  into  their  intricate  mazes, 
though  in  their  efforts  they  are  more  and  more  in- 
extricably involved  in  doubts.  So,  irreligious  men 
have  ever  been  the  most  prone  to  occupy  themselves 
with  queries  having  no  immediate  bearing  upon  the 
conduct  of  life.  In  fact,  this  very  habit  of  mind 
grows  out  of  the  natural  aversion  of  the  human 
heart  to  conform  with  the  plain,  practical  precepts 
for  the  regulation  of  life,  which  are   clearly  pre- 


matter,  and  the  magnitudes,  paths,  and  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  than 
the  occasions  and  causes  of  distempers,  and  many  other  things  in  which  human 
life  seems  so  much  more  nearly  concerned  than  in  astronomy." — ButWa  Analogy, 
p.  2,  c.  3. 

"  We  know,  indeed,  several  of  the  general  laws  of  matter  ;  and  a  great  part  of 
the  natural  behaviour  of  living  agents  is  reducible  to  general  laws.  But  we  know, 
in  a  manner,  nothing  by  what  laws  storms  and  tempests,  earthquakes,  famine, 
pestilence,  become  the  instruments  of  destruction  to  mankind,  and  the  laws  by 
which  persons  bom  into  the  world  at  such  a  time  and  place  are  of  such  capacities,  ge- 
niuses, tempera — the  laws  by  which  thoughts  come  into  our  mind  in  a  multitude  of 
cases,  and  by  which  innumerable  things  happen  of  the  greatest  influence  up<Hi  the 
affairs  and  state  of  the  world." — 76.,  c,  4. 


ETHICAL    AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQXTIRIEe.         307 

scribed  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  learn  what  is  the  true  limit  of  human  knowl- 
edge, and  not  obstinately  to  persist  in  speculations 
which  can  minister  only  to  unbelief — in  beating  the 
air  to  no  purpose,  while  there  are  so  many  and 
pressing  demands  for  all  our  energies  in  active  ser- 
vice. ^ 

Lastly.  We  know  with  certainty  that  we  are  in 
a  state  of  trial  in  this  life — and  though  we  are  not 
informed  of  the  whole  scope  of  the  discipline  to 
which  we  are  subject,  nor  all  the  purposes  for  which 
it  is  needful,  nor  why  we  see  so  little  uniformity  in 
its  administration,  still  we  are  sufficiently  informed 
of  the  fact,  that  in  the  system  of  the  moral  govern- 
ernment  of  this  world,  we  are  brought  under  a  dis- 
cipline. A  genuine  faith  in  the  great  truths  of  re- 
vealed religion  should  induce  us  to  heed  with  filial 
docility  whatsoever  admonition  comes  to  us  in  the 
providence  of  God,  and  diligently  to  seek  for  that 
entire  conformity  of  the  disposition  of  the  heart  to 
the  sublime  purity  which  is  brought  before  us  in  the 
life  and  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  ought  to 
pray  that  Grod  would  sanctify  us  wholly  in  spirit, 
soul,  and  body,  then  may  we  also  hope  that  we  shall 
have  a  gracious  answer  to  that  prayer,  and  that  we 
shall  find  rest  in  God.  Yet  not  the  rest  of  inac- 
tion— not  the  passive  rest  of  cessation  from  labor 
and  self- watchfulness — not  relief  from  pain  of  body 
and  other  sufferings  incident  to  human  life,  but  the 


308         ETHICAL   AND   PHYSIOLOGICAL    INQUIEIES. 

rest  of  peace — when  we  shall  no  longer  be  agitated 
by  fear  of  what  may  befall  us,  but  be  able  to  com- 
mit our  way  unto  the  Lord  and  trust  in  Him. 
Even  our  Saviour,  it  is  said,  ^^  though  he  were  a 
Son,  yet  learned  he  obedience  by  the  things  which 
he  suffered." 


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^\(\\f       .">       tnn.^ 

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